House of Representatives (DPR RI) Speaker Puan Maharani has asked the government to commence vaccinations for children aged 6-11 soon to support the implementation of face-to-face learning.

“We hope the vaccination for children aged under 12 can be implemented immediately. With vaccination, children can come back to learning at school safely,” she said in a statement received here on Tuesday.

She said she hoped the vaccination of children aged 6-11 can be realized promptly even though the Ministry of Health has said that it can only be started next year due to matters regarding the budget and priority groups for vaccination.

Vaccinating children in the 6–11 age group is necessary so that the implementation of face-to-face learning can be more extensive, Maharani added.

“Face-to-face learning needs to be implemented immediately to prevent fatigue due to children studying at home for too long,” she said.

She said she hoped face-to-face learning would be implemented uniformly for all children, starting from areas with the lowest COVID-19 cases rate to regions with higher rates. Therefore, vaccinating children must become a priority, she added.

The House Speaker urged the government to prepare the infrastructure, including health facilities equipped with health personnel, that are tailored to the needs of children aged below 12.

“We support the cooperation of the Ministry of Health with schools and the Social Offices in implementing child vaccinations. However, it should be underlined that children aged 6-11 years old need special treatment; so, the government must prepare it,” she remarked.

Maharani also appealed to parents not to hesitate to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, saying the vaccine could greatly benefit and protect children from the deadly virus.

Source: Antara News