Jokowi Orders Vaccine Boosters Be Ready in January 2022: Airlangga
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6 December 2021 20:57 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the government would immediately prepare to roll out the third dose of COVID-19 vaccination or vaccine boosters for the public.
“President (Joko Widodo or Jokowi) asked for a vaccination booster to be ready in January,” said Airlangga at a press conference, Monday, December 6.
He explained the government is finalizing regulations regarding the third shot. He said there will be two schemes for recipients of the contribution assistance (PBI) of BPJS Kesehatan and for non-PBI recipients.
The regulation will be noted in the Health Minister's Regulation or Permenkes. “It will be regulated in the Permenkes soon,” Airlangga added.
To date, Airlangga said the national average vaccination coverage reached 68.42 percent of the target for the first dose and 47.55 percent for the second dose.
The vaccination coverage in nine provinces, however, is still less than 50 percent. They are West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, North Maluku, Central Sulawesi, West Papua, Maluku, Southeast Sulawesi, Aceh, and Papua.
Due to the emergence of the Omicron variant in a number of countries, Airlangga said the WHO had asked the government to speed up vaccination for vulnerable groups, including children. “Vaccination for children aged 6-11 years will commence immediately.”
Read: Indonesia's COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Surpasses WHO Target
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