TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - Yogyakarta Administration on Thursday, January 13, started to intensify the booster vaccination in an effort to anticipate the rapid transmission of the Omicron variant. As one of Indonesia's popular destinations, the city expects to be able to prevent the case surge, unlike when the Delta variant hit the region in mid-2021.

"The booster [vaccines] are given by prioritizing the senior citizens and people with comorbidities, by considering the risk of higher exposure of [the virus] especially the Omicron variant against them," said Yogyakarta deputy governor Paku Alam X on the sidelines of the third dose vaccination at Jogja Expo Center.

The city, said Paku Alam, targets to inoculate 472,800 elderlies with the booster vaccines. Currently, the primary vaccinations in the city have reached 98 percent, or in the third rank of the national vaccination target.

"Therefore, Yogyakarta can start booster rollout faster than other regions," he said.

The city health department chief Pembajun Setyaningastutie said that the booster rollout is also prioritized for teachers and education staffers. The third dose vaccination will last until tomorrow, January 15, targetting 5,000 participants.

"Following the elderlies and education staffs, this program will target the general public," she said, adding that the booster vaccines will be administered to 1,500 people per day.

At this time, only those who had Sinovac for their primary vaccines will receive the boosters; either AstraZeneca or Pfizer. “For those who had AstraZeneca for the primaries, the booster vaccines are scheduled to be administered next week," said Setyaningastutie.

Read: Yogyakarta Raises 2022 Target for Tourist Visits as COVID-19 Slows Down

Pribadi Wicaksono (Contributor)