The Ministry Of Health Targets 32.6 Million Children Aged 12-17 To Be Vaccinated Against COVID-19

Illustration (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The government has started a plan to implement a COVID-19 vaccination for children under the age of 18. The Ministry of Health will start vaccinating children at the age range of 12 to 17 years.

"Child vaccinations for children aged 12-17 years are approximately 36.2 million people", said vaccination spokeswoman from the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi to VOI, Thursday, July 1.

Nadia admitted that currently, the Ministry of Health has not held general child vaccinations. Because now the government is still preparing the registration mechanism until the implementation of the vaccination.

"We are finalizing all of this, regarding the technical implementation", said Nadia.

However, there has been an agency that has opened a child vaccination program since last Monday, June 29, namely the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN). The vaccination for this group of children coincided with the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children.

For information, the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) explained that the proportion of positive cases of COVID-19 in children aged 0 to 18 years in Indonesia was 12.5 percent. This means that 1 in 8 positive cases of COVID-19 are experienced by children.

This is, of course, different from the trend of cases of infection in children on a global scale, which always ranks the lowest. In fact, the proportion of COVID-19 infections in children globally is only about 3 percent.

Furthermore, the death rate or case fatality rate of COVID-19 in children in Indonesia is the highest in the world, at 3 percent to 5 percent of the total confirmed positive children.

Until finally, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announced that the Sinovac vaccine could finally be given to children aged 12-17 years. This announcement is an answer in the midst of high cases of COVID-19 in children and a fairly high death rate.

Through a video caption, President Jokowi is grateful that the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has finally issued an emergency use authorization (UAE) for the Sinovac vaccine in children. This means that children aged 12-17 years in the country can now be injected with the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We are grateful that the BPOM has issued an emergency use authorization for the Sinovac vaccine which is declared safe for use by children aged 12 to 17 years", Jokowi said in a video broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel, Monday, June 28.

He did not specify when vaccinations for children would begin to be given. However, the former Governor of DKI Jakarta hopes that the administration of this vaccine can be carried out immediately in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, especially among children.

"Vaccination for children of that age can be started immediately and in suppressing the spread of COVID-19 this can only be done with joint efforts", he said.