If they object, then information about vaccination should be disseminated to the parents.
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Home Minister Tito Karnavian reviewed the implementation of mass vaccination for children aged 6-11 years at 36 Teladan Elementary School in Pekanbaru City, Riau Province, on Friday.

"Although the number of active COVID-19 cases, mortality rate, and bed occupancy rate had decreased quite considerably, we must not let our guard down," he emphasized.

It is because there is a new threat due to the new COVID-19 variant called Omicron that has been causal to a spike in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in several countries, he noted.

Hence, the minister has urged the community to continue to apply strict health protocols. In addition, the provincial, district, and city governments must expedite the administration of public vaccination.

"The door-to-door booster vaccinations must be conducted for the elderly by deploying several small teams. It is also important for children to be vaccinated quickly, so we will not lose a quality generation due to the inadequate learning process," the minister emphasized.

Karnavian believes that by getting all people vaccinated, the national economy will recover soon.

On the same occasion, the minister virtually greeted the participants of other child vaccination centers in the Tenayan Raya and West Rumbai sub-districts to draw attention to the importance of getting vaccinated.

Related news: Booster vaccine crucial for prevention against new COVID-19 variant

"Alhamdulillah (all praises be to God), there are no objections against the vaccination program from the parents. However, if they object, then information about vaccination should be disseminated to the parents,” he added.

Mayor of Pekanbaru City Firdaus remarked that 107 thousand children are targeted for vaccination.

According to the Health Ministry's vaccination dashboard, as of Friday at 12 p.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB), some 29,135 children in the city had received the first-dose vaccinations.

"It means that more than 25 percent of the children in Pekanbaru City have been administered the first dose of vaccination. We target to administer 10 thousand child vaccination doses on Friday in 15 sub-districts. Each sub-district has one vaccination center," the mayor stated.

Related news: Governments in Jabodetabek should accelerate booster vaccination

Translator: Frislidia, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022