Measles, tetanus vaccinations

JAKARTA: National immunization week from late September to early October will mean measles and tetanus vaccinations for 22 million children aged under five.

The government had budgeted Rp 2.7 billion to supply the free vaccinations, the coordinating minister for people's welfare's secretary, Suyono Yahya, said last week.

He was quoted by Antara as saying that measles vaccinations would be given to 2.9 million nine-month-old babies. Children under five and 46 million women aged between 15 and 39 years will get tetanus vaccinations.

He said the government would also give free Hepatitis B vaccinations to babies born since April 1 to ensure that the 4.6 million babies expected to be born this year would not be infected by the virus.

The vaccinations are part of the government's program to extend Indonesians' life expectancy from 62.7 years to 70 years by the end of the second phase of the 1994-2019 Twenty-five Year Development Plan, and cut the mortality rate of babies and women during childbirth.