As many as 2,255 of the 6,957 vaccine recipients received their second shots, Aceh Provincial Government's COVID-19 Task Force spokesperson, Saifullah Abdulgani, remarked.
However, the number of elderly people inoculated remains low as compared to the provincial government's targeted figure, Abdulgani noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here on Saturday.
The government has outlined a target of vaccinating 435,651 elderly people in Indonesia's westernmost province that lies on the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island.
To achieve the target, the Aceh COVID-19 task force has deployed its personnel in 23 districts and cities across the province to bolster their vaccination program for the elderly and other age groups, he remarked.
"The elderly belong to the group, with very high risk for the novel coronavirus disease. If they get infected, they are at greater risk of dying," he cautioned.
The COVID-19 outbreak initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 and thereafter spread across the world, including to nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian government announced the nation's first confirmed cases on March 2, 2020.
Since then, the central and regional governments have striven incessantly to flatten the coronavirus disease curve by applying healthcare protocols and social restrictions.
As part of its efforts to win the fight against COVID-19, the Indonesian government has also been conducting a nationwide vaccination program to contain infections since January 13, 2021.
The Indonesian Health Ministry has pegged the vaccination of some 181.5 million people to take around 15 months.
Apart from its ongoing vaccination program, the government also banned homebound travel, or "mudik," ahead of this year's Eid al-Fitr holiday season, akin to the practice followed last year, to break the chain of the spread of COVID-19, which had dampened the purchasing power of families across Indonesia.
Indonesia recorded 12,990 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours amid a fresh surge in infections, bringing the total tally to 1,963,266 as of Friday.
According to Indonesia's Task Force for COVID-19 Response on Friday, the number of people recovering from the virus soared by 7,907, taking the total recoveries to 1,779,127.
With 290 people succumbing to the virus, the death toll climbed to 54,043.
Related news: Aceh prioritizes frontline medical workers for COVID vaccine jab
Related news: Aceh's five districts, cities remain COVID-19 free with zero cases
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Khalis S, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
