"If all families adhere to health protocols, wear masks in appropriate places, such as public spaces and crowds, and avoid crowds, diligently wash their hands, this will have a major impact on national efforts to control COVID-19," he remarked at the online commemoration of the 28th National Family Day, held by the National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) and accessed from Jakarta on Tuesday.
Vaccination is also an important government program for dealing with COVID-19, the minister said. Through vaccinations, it is hoped that every community will have antibodies in their immune system, he added.
"So that when exposed to (the new type of coronavirus), the antibody of someone can neutralize the virus in his body," he continued.
Karnavian also explained the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines, apart from prevention involving the 5Ms (wearing masks, washing hands with soap, maintaining safe distance, avoiding crowds, and reducing activities outside the home).
According to him, the government will find it difficult to suppress the spread of COVID-19 if the community does not take part in the efforts since the community is at the forefront of preventing person-to-person transmission.
Therefore, the minister said, the family has a central role in dealing with COVID-19. "I hope every family can socialize and implement the 5Ms. At the same time, (I would) encourage (them to participate in) vaccination programs," he added.
The pandemic, which has several negative impacts, can be suppressed if the government and entire communities, including families, come together, Karnavian said.
At the peak of the 28th National Family Day commemoration, BKKBN also launched a vaccination program for breastfeeding mothers and children aged 12 to 17 years.
Simultaneous vaccination activities were carried out in Bogor City, Sumedang district, Makassar City and Pangkal Pingang City with the aim of extending protection to breastfeeding mothers and children from COVID-19.
As many as 13,329,738 Indonesians have received the full dose of the COVID-19 vaccine under the national vaccination program, which is targeting to build herd immunity against the virus, the COVID-19 Task Force has reported.
A total of 147,704 people received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, 884,876 people received their first vaccine dose on Tuesday, which brought the total tally of recipients of the first dose to 28,304,774.
The government has intensified the vaccination program and is targeting to administer at least one million doses daily to speed up the realization of herd immunity.
Under the first phase of the vaccination program, the government is aiming to inoculate 40,349,049 people against COVID-19 out of the 181.5 million recipients targeted by the national immunization program overall. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Virna P, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
