VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Illustration—A health worker vaccinates a child. (ANTARA/HO) - 

The Ministry of Health will commence vaccinations for children aged 6 to 11 years in Java and Bali islands from December 24, 2021, an official has said.

“We will start from Java-Bali and probably some additional districts outside Java and Bali,” spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccinations for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, confirmed in Jakarta on Saturday.

As instructed by the Minister of Home Affairs, vaccinations for children in the 6–11 age group can commence once a region has reached 70-percent first dose vaccination coverage and 60-percent elderly vaccination coverage, she said.

Vaccinations for children would be administered in schools, health facilities, or vaccination centers, Tarmizi informed.

Earlier, during a working visit to Boyolali, Central Java, on Friday (December 10, 2021), deputy health minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono had revealed that the government has allocated around 60 million vaccine doses for children in the 6–11 age group across the country.

“Vaccinations for children will commence on December 24, 2021. We will prioritize vaccinations for children. We have allocated around 58–60 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that are suitable for children aged 6–11,” he said.

The National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) had earlier given permission for the emergency use of the Sinovac vaccine for children aged 6–11.

In a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021. President Joko Widodo was the first vaccine recipient under the program.

According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of December 11, 2021, nearly 146,270,504 citizens have received their first COVID-19 shot, while 102,759,772 have been fully vaccinated against the virus//ANT