Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian government plans to work with schools to vaccinate children aged 6 to 11 years old, the Health Ministry’s spokesperson for COVID-19 Siti Nadia Tarmizi has said.

The vaccination program against COVID-19 for this group will be carried out along with the immunization month event held by schools every year, Nadia said in a talk show here on Monday (Nov. 8).

A number of experts, including those from the Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI), said that children are courageous to get vaccinated if they see their friends do not cry when they are injected. Therefore, vaccination is expected to be more efficient if it is implemented at schools.

“For children with disabilities, we will work closely with special schools and the community. Meanwhile, for children who are not at schools, we will cooperate with the social affairs offices,” she added.

Nadia said, COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6-11 years old with Sinovac will use a one-data vaccination system with their identification number (NIK).

The government targets to vaccinate around 26 million children aged 6-11 years old, with the need of at least 50 million doses of vaccine for two shots.

The government is still setting up the technical aspects of vaccination for this group in more detail, by taking into account the side effects of vaccination that are usually not clearly perceived by children.

The government is also exploring the right method of screening so that children with congenital diseases such as heart disease and leukemia are not directly vaccinated without the approval from doctors who usually treat them.

Reporting by Indonesia Window