Meanwhile, Indonesia is still in the second wave.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Spokesperson of the Indonesian Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi urged the public to make full COVID-19 vaccination and strong adherence to health protocols as the 2022 new year resolutions.

"We must have joint resolutions to end the pandemic together," she remarked at a podcast broadcasted by the ministry’s YouTube channel here on Monday.

Tarmizi noted that vaccination and compliance with the health protocols can protect Indonesian people from the next wave of COVID-19.

“Currently, many countries have experienced the fourth and fifth waves of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Indonesia is still in the second wave. Hence, we must stay vigilant for the third one,” the spokesperson stated.

Tarmizi also noted that the government was still pursuing the vaccination coverage target for vulnerable people since they have a high possibility of suffering from severe illness or even dying once infected by the virus.

Hence, she stated that the implementation of booster vaccinations should consider the vaccination achievement of the vulnerable groups.

According to the ministry’s vaccination dashboard, currently, the coverage of first vaccination doses for the elderly has reached 66.79 percent. Meanwhile, the second doses have been administered to 42.17 percent of the targeted elderly group.

Tarmizi emphasized that the pandemic will not end unless the targeted people receive complete vaccinations.

"If there are people, who have not been vaccinated, then the virus can still evolve," she remarked.

Hence, the ministry remains committed to vaccinating all target groups to thwart the possibility of the virus mutating.

Initially, the government had planned to administer booster vaccines if the 208 million health workers, elderly, public officials, vulnerable communities, general public, and children aged 12-17 years, as well as the 26.4 million children aged 6-11 years were fully vaccinated, the spokesperson noted.

However, Tarmizi noted that considering various reports from several scientific journals on the decline in vaccine efficacy due to the new COVID-19 variants, such as Omicron and Delta, the implementation of booster vaccination is being considered.

"In addition, the Omicron variant is reported to be able to evade our immune system, so we will immediately start the booster vaccination," she added.

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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Uyu Liman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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