Hundreds of children lined up for free measles shots 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, according to officials who said 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 in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
A major outbreak occurred in the easternmost province of Papua in 2018, causing dozens of deaths.
Just 72% of Indonesia’s 22 million children under five received the measles vaccine last year, and in some provinces, vaccination rates were below 50%, according to data from Statistics Indonesia.
Indonesian authorities have called on residents and community and religious leaders to support immunisation efforts.
The mass vaccination in Sumenep is targeting 78,000 children from months to six years old.
Globally, the World Health Organisation says 84% of children received the first dose of measles vaccine last year, and 76% had received two doses. But experts say measles vaccine rates need to reach 95% to prevent outbreaks.
WHO noted that 60 countries reported big measles outbreaks last year. — AP
