Busy Collecting Data, Malang Education And Culture Office Targets COVID Vaccination For Elementary-Junior High School Students To Be Completed In October 2021

Illustration - Medical workers prepare Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine (ANTARA)

MALANG - The Department of Education and Culture (Disdikbud) of Malang City, East Java, has targeted the completion of the COVID-19 vaccination for all students in October 2021.

"We hope and make maximum efforts so that by October 2021, all students who are at least 12 years old, and in accordance with applicable regulations and requirements have received the COVID-19 vaccine," said Head of Malang City Education and Culture Suwarjana in Malang City, Antara, Friday, 27 August.

Student vaccination is one of the steps to accommodate various parties, such as teachers, students, and parents for the implementation of face-to-face learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"If at any time the relevant parties allow face-to-face learning, then the City of Malang will be ready to implement the policy," he said.

He added that the provision of vaccines for students at the Elementary School (SD) and Junior High School (SMP) levels is currently still being carried out in the internal coordination stage related to data on the number of students.

"We absolutely must have data on the number of students aged 12 years and must be valid so that it becomes a reference for submitting vaccines to students," he said.

The Malang City Education and Culture Office has also coordinated with the principals of elementary and junior high schools in the area to obtain data on the number of students aged 12 years and over.

In April 2021, in Malang City, limited face-to-face teaching and learning activities have been carried out, applying strict health protocols. However, the surge in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia made the limited school suspended.

Currently, Malang City is still implementing the Enforcement of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM). Malang City this week is already in the orange zone or an area with a moderate risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Overall, Malang City has 14,568 confirmed cases of COVID-19, of which 12,893 people are reported to have recovered, 1,048 people have died, and the rest are being treated.