"Cengkareng sub-district is one of the areas that have the lowest vaccination number," Commandant of Kodim 0503 / West Jakarta, Colonel of Infantry Dadang Ismail Marzuki, confirmed here on Tuesday.
The low vaccination rate can be attributed to several factors, such as there are a lot of cheap dwellings at Cengkareng, which allow residents to move in and out easily, he explained.
There are also many industries located in the sub-district that are contributing to high employee mobility, he said.
In addition, the majority of people in Cengkareng are not sufficiently educated about vaccines, with many believing in false news and that vaccines are dangerous, he added.
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Hence, he said his team has bolstered efforts to increase the vaccination rate in West Jakarta, especially in Cengkareng.
According to Marzuki, the first effort has been opening vaccination sites at several points in the Cengkareng area, especially in Kapuk village.
"The TNI (Indonesian Defense Forces) base has maximized the vaccination at the Cengkareng area for almost two months, especially Kapuk village. Until now, the vaccination sites are still open," he informed.
In each sub-district of the village, leaflets have been distributed to educate residents and vaccine literacy is being optimized by village affiliated non-commissioned officers, who are sharing the benefits of the vaccine with the public, he said.
He further said he hopes that Cengkareng will be able to become the sub-district with the highest vaccination rate in West Jakarta.
Cengkareng sub-district head Ahmad Faqih also shared data on the latest vaccination rate in the area.
Based on data collected on Sunday (October 24, 2021), the target of first-dose vaccinations in Cengkareng is 456,111 residents, while 350,821 people have been vaccinated, he said.
Kapuk village is still far from reaching the target, with 99,800 residents having been vaccinated out of the 134,466 targeted recipients, he informed.
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Translator: Walda M, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
