Because the less the number of targets, the more difficult it is to find them.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Health Ministry secretary general Kunta Wibawa Dasa Nugraha has urged nurses across Indonesia to help the government reach the remaining members of vulnerable groups targeted by the COVID-19 vaccination program in remote regions.

"Our focuses are the elderly, people with comorbidities, and those who have not yet been vaccinated," he informed during a webinar on Zoom on Thursday.

"Elderly vaccination requires nurses' cooperation, specifically in remote regions through the support of the military and the police in order to reach them," he said.

Indonesia has not optimally pursued vaccinations in the outermost, remote, and underdeveloped (3T) regions due to geographic challenges, he explained.

"We can cover all the other regions because they are easy to reach. Enthusiasm among children and mothers is also high, but it is quite low among the elderly," Wibawa elaborated.

Hence, he asked the Indonesian National Nurse Association (PPNI) in each region to comb through the remaining population.

"Because the less the number of targets, the more difficult it is to find them," he remarked.

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The ministry has initiated a number of policies to make it easy to search for the remaining population, such as the launch of the PeduliLindungi application, which has now been downloaded by more than 100 million users, he said.

"Through this application, we can detect patients and we can connect with telemedicine in order to consult with doctors for medications," he added.

The ministry is also helping in the vaccination target mapping process for the elderly, aged above 60 years, and sending them a short message inviting them to get vaccinated.

"This invitation message can be delivered through Posyandu (integrated health service posts), Puskesmas (public health center), and hospitals so that they can come and get themselves vaccinated," he explained.

"If not, we can send workers to check on those people," he added.

In addition, the ministry has also intensified information dissemination so that people are aware that primary and booster vaccines exist.

This is expected to raise the enthusiasm of those who have not been vaccinated yet.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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