"This arrival also marks the success of Indonesia's multilateral diplomacy in handling the pandemic, including the availability of vaccines," Director General of Information and Public Communication of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics Usman Kansong noted in a press statement, Wednesday.
Kansong highlighted that Indonesia had become one of the countries in ASEAN to have pioneered the active handling of the COVID-19 pandemic at the regional level.
Indonesia encourages various initiatives and strengthens health resilience mechanisms in ASEAN, he stressed.
Through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX), Indonesia is also actively promoting equal access to vaccines for all countries in the world.
"Indonesia plays an active role to equalize access to vaccines for countries in the world," Kansong stated.
By pushing for equal COVID-19 handling, Indonesia continues to ensure its domestic handling of COVID-19 also runs well despite it currently facing new challenges with the emergence of the Omicron variant.
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He later highlighted that Indonesia had exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) target to vaccinate over 40 percent of the population by the end of 2021.
This achievement is testament to Indonesia's consistency in fighting COVID-19, which is now entering its third year after spreading globally, Kansong affirmed.
Continuing the efforts made in 2021, the central government targets 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated by 2022.
To this end, the government consistently strives to provide sufficient stocks of the COVID-19 vaccine to meet the needs of the COVID-19 vaccination program.
"We want to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to all parties involved in the national vaccination program and also to the community," Kansong noted.
He emphasized that vaccination was one of the keys to protecting individuals and the nation from COVID-19 transmission.
In addition, the government continues to handle transmission of the Omicron variant in Indonesia. Moreover, Kansong reminded the local government to intensify tracing and testing of close contacts in order to detect confirmed cases.
He also urged the public to be more vigilant in complying with health protocols and the government's advice for handling COVID-19.
"We must implement strict health protocols while accelerating vaccination at the same time," he added. Related news: Indonesia's vaccination rate has surpassed WHO target: Deputy Minister
Related news: Gov't aiming to complete vaccinations by March-April 2022
Translator: Livia K, Resinta S
Editor: Suharto
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