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Parents eagerly await vaccine rollout for children as young as 6
Parents are thrilled that the government will begin administering COVID-19 vaccine to some 26 million children aged 6 to 11 years starting next year, saying they want to give their children as much protection from the virus as possible, including when the children are at school.
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A teacher and his students take part in a simuation of socially distanced in-class learning on Dec. 15, 2020 at SDN Karang Raharja 02 elementary school in Cikarang, Bekasi regency, West Java. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
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arents are thrilled that the government will begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to some 26 million children aged 6 to 11 starting next year, saying they want to give their children as much protection from the virus as possible, including when the children are at school.
The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) approved last week the Coronavac vaccine produced by Chinese Sinovac for emergency use on children as young as 6, making it the first registered vaccine that could be used for this age group in Indonesia.
Laura Noviana, a 39-year-old mother from Bekasi in West Java, said she had been waiting for months for her 8-year-old son Geoffrey to get vaccinated.
“I think the sooner [children can get vaccinated] the better, especially because my son has already returned to school for in-person classes,” Laura told The Jakarta Post.
Like Laura, Dendra Aditya Ramadhanto, 34, from South Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, said that he would get his 5-year-old son Daksha vaccinated as soon as he turned 6 next February.
"Regardless of what people say about [Sinovac's] low [efficacy compared to other vaccines], a small increase in protection is better than nothing," Dendra said.
Read also: BPOM approves Sinovac vaccine for minors aged 6 to 11
