he Jakarta administration aims to vaccinate 2.4 million children across the capital against measles and rubella as part of the nationwide vaccination campaign.
The Jakarta Health Agency head Koesmedi Priharto said on Wednesday that vaccinations for children aged 9 months to 15 years would be done in two phases, in August and September.
In August, officials from all community health centers (Puskesmas) in the city will visit all schools from elementary school to senior high school to immunize 7- to 15-year-old students.
In September, officials will visit early childhood education centers (PAUD) and integrated health services posts (Posyandu) in every district and subdistrict in the capital to vaccinate 9-month to 6-year-old children against measles and rubella.
“For every 100 cases of measles in the city, there are 16 rubella cases. It’s threatening as rubella can cause blindness and deafness,” Jakarta Health Agency head Koesmedi Priharto said.
He expressed hope that he could reduce the number of measles and rubella cases in the city through the two-month immunization campaign.
(Read also: Low vaccination rate causes measles outbreak in Deyai villages)
Health Ministry data shows that in 2016 the country saw 6,890 cases of measles, five of them fatal.
Among the 6,890 cases, 273 of them occurred in Jakarta, with no cases of death.
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