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Vaccination for Children to Start in Jakarta, Says Pediatrician Group

The Indonesian Pediatrician Association or IDAI has announced that mass Covid-19 vaccinations for children will soon be held in Indonesia. IDAI’s chairperson for its Jakarta branch, Rini Sekartini, said the mass vaccinations will commence on Thursday, July 1.

“The Jakarta Health Service said the [Covid-19] vaccinations will start with children in between the ages of 12 to 17,” she asserted to Kompas.com on Wednesday.

She added that IDAI has long given their recommendation for the move “IDAI supports the Jakarta Provincial Administration’s efforts to vaccinate children as it can reduce the number of Covid-19 cases among minors,” Rita asserted.

The Jakarta Health Services noted that Covid-19 cases among children in the capital have been on the rise. They attribute the surge to the Delta variant of the coronavirus, which is more transmissible to children than other Covid-19 strains.

The Jakarta Provincial Administration noted that of 7,379 Covid-19 cases detected in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 28, 16 percent or 1,152 cases were minors. 835 of the cases are between the ages of 6 to 18, while 317 ranged from infants to five-year-olds.

“And if they test positive [for Covid-19], the vaccine will mitigate the symptoms before they worsen.”

Meanwhile, Indonesian Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono has urged the government to stage an intervention to reduce the number of Covid-19 deaths among children and increase their rate of recovery.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/06/30/205629574/idai-vaccination-for-children-to-start-in-jakarta.