Health Ministry Discusses Second Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine
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22 July 2022 23:43 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Health Ministry is mulling over the distribution of the second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine given the ministry's prediction that the pandemic will keep ongoing and the fact that a number of countries have administered the fourth dose.
"The plan is under consideration because of the long-term pandemic," said the ministry's spokesperson Mohammad Syahril as quoted from Antara on Friday, July 22, 2022.
According to Syahril, the ministry along with the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) are having intensive discussions regarding the fourth-dose vaccination program for the general public in the country. The priority will be given to high-risk groups, namely health workers, the elderly, and public service personnel.
The government also discussed its capability of providing vaccine supply and the third-dose vaccination coverage that still fall short of the intended target. Based on the ministry’s vaccination dashboard, only 53.89 million people or 25.88 percent of the target of 208 million have received the first booster shot.
Meanwhile, ITAGI chairperson Sri Rezeki Hadinegoro denied having been asked for opinions related to the second booster vaccination by the Health Ministry. She underlined that ITAGI has not yet given such a recommendation because of unmet coverage of primary and booster vaccination.
"The first-dose vaccination coverage at 90 percent is good, while the second-dose vaccination coverage is a bit low even though it's good enough at 81 percent," Sri told Antara on Friday, July 22, 2022.
She confirmed that the fourth COVID-19 shot for people at high risk is recommended by WHO but the implementation depends on each country. For Indonesia, Sri suggested the government achieve the target of primary dose vaccination coverage and first booster vaccination coverage.
The chairman of the COVID-19 Task Force of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), Zubairi Djoerban, gave the same recommendation related to the second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. "The first booster shot has not yet reached the target. So it’s better to make it a priority," he said.
ANTARA
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