Indonesia to start rolling out Covid-19 vaccination for children under 6 yrs

Jakarta, Jan 29 (IANS) Indonesia is set to roll out Covid-19 vaccinations for children under six years starting in the second quarter this year, the country’s Health Ministry announced.

“We’ve already calculated how many children aged six-years-old and below who need the vaccines and when the vaccines can be sent to Indonesia. Based on that, we estimate that the jabs can start in the second quarter,” Spokeswoman of Indonesia’s Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, told reporters in Jakarta on Saturday.

The Indonesian government has so far carried out Covid-19 vaccinations based on age categories, for children aged 6-11 years, 12-17 years, adults aged 18 years and above, and elderly people, Xinhua news agency reported.

As of Friday, more than 204 million people across the country have received the first vaccine dose, more than 175 million have received the second dose, and 69 million received the third dose, according to data from the Ministry.

Around 1.2 million elderly and people who work in healthcare sectors have been prioritised to receive the fourth dose or the second booster vaccine.

–IANS

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