"Even though as of last night, Indonesia's whole genome sequencing has shown that the Omicron variant is not found yet in Indonesia, high vigilance will still bring benefits to all of us compared to being careless and complacent," she said at a virtual press conference, accessed here on Friday.
In facing the new COVID-19 variant, vaccines can still protect humans from severe illness and death, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), she noted.
The WHO has also urged all governments and agencies to use all the equipment they have for prevention, testing, and treatment in a bid to fight COVID-19, she added.
One of the efforts is accelerating COVID-19 vaccinations, especially for groups who are most vulnerable to the virus, Asmoro said.
Related news: Health Ministry denies Omicron detected in Bekasi, West Java
The Indonesian government has continued to increase the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country, she added.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has instructed all vaccination service posts, port health offices, hospitals under the Ministry of Health, and health polytechnics to vaccinate all targets regardless of their domicile, she informed.
According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of December 10, 2021, nearly 145,085,912 citizens, or 69.66 percent of the targeted 208,265,720 recipients, have received their first COVID-19 shot, while 101,794,596 or 48.88 percent have been fully vaccinated against the virus.
"Let us use this Christmas and New Year celebration as proof that we, the 280 million people of Indonesia, believe it is better to prevent, control transmission now than to treat and experience an alarming spike in cases later in 2022," the spokesperson remarked.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
