"Today we are starting to conduct booster vaccinations, but first we prioritize people who are over 60 years old or the elderly under the condition that six months have elapsed since the second dose has been received," Wismansyah remarked while reviewing vaccinations at the Panunggangan Barat Health Center, Cibodas sub-district, on Wednesday.
Currently, the Tangerang city government has just 506 vaccine vials in stock, which can be allocated for providing booster doses to six thousand people, he informed.
"So, we prioritize the elderly first. We continue to coordinate with the central government for the vaccine supply. We will expedite it for sure. Later on, we will call other (groups of) people. We are currently preparing the outlets," he said.
He also appealed to the public to continue to apply strict health protocols, including those who have received complete and booster vaccinations.
"Hopefully, this booster vaccination event can strengthen the body's immune system and prevent people from being exposed to the COVID-19 virus that is still (rampant)," Wismansyah said.
Related news: Booster shot: Eight million Jakartans aged 18 and above targeted
Meanwhile, head of the Tangerang Health Office, Dini Anggraeni, highlighted that people who have received Sinovac vaccines for their first and second doses can get either Pfizer or AstraZeneca shots for their third dose.
"If the first and second vaccines are AstraZeneca, for the booster we will use Moderna; for that we have to check the primary care (a facility from the Social Security program) data first," Anggraeni said.
Recently, President Joko Widodo announced the mechanism for the distribution of booster shots, which were launched on Wednesday.
The President confirmed that the booster shots will be provided free of charge to everyone and said that several brands that will be used for the program, such as Sinovac or Coronavac, Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Zificav.
Related news: Jakarta kicks off COVID-19 booster drive
Translator: Achmad Irfan, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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