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Govt kicks off child immunization catch-up campaign
Child vaccination rates have fallen in Java and Bali as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A medical worker gives an infant a polio vaccine dose at an integrated health post (Posyandu) in Kuta Alam, Banda Aceh, on Feb. 2, 2021. (Antara/Ampelsa)
T
he government has kicked off a child vaccination campaign in Java and Bali to combat a significant decline in pediatric immunization rates as a result of the pandemic.
National Child Vaccination Month (BIAN) Phase II seeks to provide catch-up vaccinations for children under the age of 5 who have missed their polio vaccines or their diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia and meningitis (DPT-HB-Hib) shots.
Health authorities are also aiming to administer some 9.4 million measles and rubella vaccine doses to children on the two islands.
The Health Ministry will work with schools, hospitals, private clinics, integrated health services posts (posyandu) and community health centers (puskesmas) in Java and Bali during the campaign, which is set to run until the end of the month.
The ministry will also set up mobile puskesmas in remote areas to support the campaign.
The government conducted the first phase of BIAN from May to July, targeting some 27 million children in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua.
At the launch of the campaign on Wednesday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin urged parents to get their children vaccinated, noting that immunization was a safe, cheap and effective measure to protect them from various diseases.
