Number of Indonesians Administered First COVID-19 Jab Crosses 14.8 Million

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A total of 14,815,666 Indonesians have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine so far, according to data recorded by the coronavirus task force as of 12 p.m. local time on Saturday.

With 114,253 people receiving their second vaccine dose on Saturday, the number of fully vaccinated recipients (who have received both the doses) has now reached 9,825,499.

The task force is aiming to inoculate 40,349,049 Indonesian citizens in the first and second phases of the national vaccination program.

Overall, the government plans to vaccinate 181.5 million citizens, or 70 percent of the population, to create herd immunity against the virus.

To speed up the nationwide program, the government has made efforts to increase the vaccination capacity.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has also urged world leaders to take concrete steps to address gaps in access to vaccines to ensure fair and equitable access for all countries.

"I must remind all of us again that we will only truly recover and be safe from COVID-19 if all countries have also recovered. No one is safe until everyone is," the President said while delivering an online speech at the Global Health Summit on Friday night, accessed by ANTARA via the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel on Saturday.

When some countries started vaccinating low-risk groups, such as children and young people, only 0.3 percent of the global vaccine supply was available to low-income countries, the head of state noted.

The gap was even more noticeable in vaccine distribution, with 83 percent of the global vaccine supplies absorbed by rich countries and the remaining 17 percent going to developing countries, which constitute 47 percent of the world's population, Jokow Widodo said.

"Hence, we must take concrete steps. In the short term, we must encourage dose-sharing through the COVAX Facility even more. This is a form of solidarity that must be encouraged and multiplied, especially in overcoming supply constraints," the President affirmed.

Read: Global Health Summit: Jokowi Says Indonesia Ready to Increase Vaccine Production

ANTARA