Indonesia launches large-scale vaccination campaign following measles outbreak
Data from Statistics Indonesia showed that just 72% of Indonesia’s 22 million children aged under 5 received the measles vaccine last year, and in some provinces, vaccination rates were below 50%.
Hanoi (VNA) - Hundreds of children in Indonesia got free measles shots on August 25 as authorities rolled out a vaccination campaign in response to an outbreak that has caused 17 deaths.
More than 2,000 children were infected in East Java province over the past eight months. Notably, 16 of the 17 deaths occurred in Sumenep district. Sixteen patients were not immunised and one did not complete the vaccines, according to data from Sumenep District Health Agency.
Indonesia has reported previous outbreaks of the highly infectious disease, mostly driven by gaps in vaccination coverage. A major outbreak occurred in Papua province in 2018, causing dozens of deaths.
Data from Statistics Indonesia showed that just 72% of Indonesia’s 22 million children aged under 5 received the measles vaccine last year, and in some provinces, vaccination rates were below 50%. The mass vaccination in Sumenep is targeting 78,000 children from 9 months to 6 years old./.
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