"If you have been fully vaccinated, and the range has reached three months, immediately encourage your families to get the booster dose, especially older adults," she said at the ‘Is Indonesia Ready to Enter Endemic Phase?’ online broadcast, accessed from here on Monday.
Indonesia's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has reached 92.2 percent for the first dose as of March 6, 2022, she noted.
However, the coverage for the second dose has only reached 71.03 percent and booster vaccinations have remained below 10 percent, she said.
According to Asmoro, vaccination coverage among older adults is still relatively low. Therefore, more efforts are needed to expand vaccinations in this group, she said.
Acknowledging the importance of vaccinations for older adults, the government has issued Circular Letter of the Director-General of Disease Prevention and Control Number SR.02.06/II/1180/2022 on Adjustment for the Implementation of COVID-19 Booster Vaccination for the general public, she said.
In the circular, adults aged 60 years or above have been allowed to adjust the booster shot window and get the jab at least three months after completing the first two doses.
She emphasized that booster vaccines can accord older adults up to 91 percent protection from the worst risks of COVID-19.
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Therefore, she said, she hoped that all parties would work jointly to help older adults get vaccinated at the nearest health facility.
Even though the country is entering the endemic phase, people must continue to comply with the basic health protocols such as wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining social distance, she stressed.
As part of efforts to boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government started a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021.
According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of March 7, 2022, nearly 192,134,689 Indonesians have received their first COVID-19 jab, 148,347,458 have been fully vaccinated, and 12,698,131 have received the booster dose.
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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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