Jokowi: 7.5 Million Jakarta Residents Must Be Vaccinated by August

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo set a target for Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and city officials to complete the Covid-19 vaccination for 7.5 million residents by next August.

“This is indeed a very ambitious target, but like it or not, we have to go there to achieve herd immunity,” said the President while monitoring the mass vaccination at Tanah Tinggi low-cost apartment, Jakarta, as broadcasted on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel, Monday, June 14.

He asked Anies and city officials to work hard to achieve this target. “Because in Jakarta, the community interaction and mobility is very high, so the vaccination speed is very decisive for the spread of Covid-19,” said the state head.

Jokowi also targeted the Jakarta administration to administer 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine per day starting next week in an attempt to achieve herd immunity in August.

The national mass vaccination has been expanded for people aged 50 years and those with disabilities. Since Wednesday, June 9, Jakarta has also offered Covid-19 vaccination for residents aged 18 years and over while entering its third stage of vaccination for vulnerable people including residents living in slum areas.

The Health Ministry’s spokesperson for Covid-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, also said that it is necessary to immediately curb and control Covid-19 cases in the capital city in an effort to achieve herd immunity by holding mass vaccination with high and equitable coverage.

Read: Covid-19 Vaccination for People with Disability to Start Next Month

DEWI NURITA