"Booster (vaccinations) will start on January 12, 2022, for both (free and paid doses)," Siti Nadia Tarmizi confirmed.
Free booster vaccines, which will be provided under government subsidies, will be given to fund assistance recipients (PBI), especially the elderly, she informed.
"The government's target is to vaccinate the elderly as a group that is vulnerable to being hospitalized and also experiencing severe symptoms, even death when exposed (to the virus)" she explained.
Those who are not eligible for free booster vaccines will be able to get booster doses at health facilities by shelling out around Rp300 thousand, she added.
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Earlier, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, at a virtual press conference on Monday, said that as many as 21 million Indonesians are eligible for the booster vaccinations that will commence on January 12.
According to the minister, the booster vaccines will be given to people aged 18 and above, in accordance with the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendation.
The minister affirmed that booster vaccinations will target districts and cities where vaccination coverage has reached 70 percent for the first dose and 60 percent for the second dose.
As per the Ministry of Health, 244 cities and districts have met the criteria for third-dose vaccinations.
The booster vaccines will be given to those who have completed six months since the second vaccination dose, Sadikin confirmed.
In a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021.
According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of January 4, 2022, nearly 166,881,284 citizens have received their first COVID-19 jab, while 114,692,899 are fully vaccinated against the virus.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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