"Jakarta's some 1.4 million residents aged six years and above have still not been vaccinated," Head of the Surveillance and Immunization Section of the Jakarta Health Office Ngabila stated during the Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) COVID-19 working group discussion aired on internetsehat's YouTube channel on Friday.
Ngabila highlighted various reasons behind Jakarta's residents not having taken the COVID-19 vaccine, including lingering doubts among several people regarding whether the vaccine is halal.
"In fact, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued a fatwa that Sinovac is halal and holy; AstraZeneca is Mubah. Mubah means permissible," she remarked.
Ngabila expressed optimism that the community would understand and no longer question the halal status of all vaccines administered in the national vaccination program.
In addition, some residents are uncertain about the vaccines' effectiveness.
Related news: Police claim 95.5 percent of Jakarta's population vaccinated
Ngabila appealed to the community to get inoculated without engaging in the practice of "vaccine shopping" in which people forgo vaccines if they do not belong to their preferred brand.
"All vaccine brands are safe, healthy, and of good quality," she stressed.
The Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, as part of the efforts to boost the community's immunity against COVID-19. President Joko Widodo was the first vaccine recipient under the program.
According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of February 26, 2022, nearly 190,672,288 Indonesians have received their first COVID-19 jab, 143,774,691 have been fully vaccinated, and 9,809,490 have received the third or booster dose.
Specifically for Jakarta, 12,407,255 residents have received the first vaccine dose, 10,422,009 have been fully vaccinated, and 1,270,208 have received the booster shot, according to the data.
Related news: Jakartans urged to take booster vaccines without delay
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Translator: Ricky Prayoga, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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