The Jakarta Health Office has appealed to parents to complete basic immunizations of their children, especially those in the age bracket of six to 11 years, in preparation for the COVID-19 vaccination.
“Please complete the basic immunization immediately,” Head of Disease Prevention and Control of the Jakarta Health Office Dwi Oktavia stated at a seminar on COVID-19 vaccination and child vaccination on Tuesday.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, her office has continued to pursue the government’s program in connection with basic vaccinations for children to maintain their health, she said.
“Do not allow them to become vulnerable due to other illnesses that can be prevented by immunization just because parents forget to complete their children’s immunization. Hence, routine immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic must still be pursued,” Oktavia emphasized.
The basic immunization, for infants up to 11 months of age, comprises tuberculosis, diphtheria, DPT, polio, measles, and rubella vaccination.
Children in the age group of 18 to 24 months are necessitated to receive further immunizations for DPT, measles, and rubella.
Furthermore, immunizations for elementary school children are measles, rubella, diphtheria, and Tetanus (DT) vaccinations for first graders and tetanus-diphtheria (Td) immunizations for second and fifth graders.
The Government of Jakarta also provides vaccinations to prevent cervical cancer, specifically for girls in the fifth grade. The vaccination will be taken thrice and had been conducted since 2016.
“The coverage of cervical cancer vaccination from 2016 to 2019 is quite high, at 90 percent. Hopefully, we would be able to pursue the vaccination figure not only in public schools but also in private and religious-based schools,” she remarked.
Oktavia affirmed that basic vaccinations for infants and children in the age group of 18-24 months were recorded at a high percentage in 2020, reaching up to 99 percent.
Meanwhile, further vaccinations for elementary school children will be boosted through limited face-to-face Learning (PTM) after earlier being constrained by opting for online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With PTM, we can also catch up with providing follow-up vaccinations for elementary school children in grades one, two, five, and six, so that children’s antibodies can be maintained and is able to reduce the risk of diseases that can be prevented by immunization and not just COVID but also other diseases,” she added.
Source: Antara News