"Regarding the consideration of (using) booster vaccination (as a requirement for exodus), of course, later we will see how big the escalation of the transmission rate might be, whether this policy is necessary or not," spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccinations at the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said at a press conference on the first Health Working Group, which was accessed online here on Wednesday.
She emphasized that in preparation for this year's Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr exodus, the government is using the indicators of public activity restrictions (PPKM) to monitor the rate of transmission and response capacity at the national, district, city, and provincial levels.
"So, of course, this is an essential tool in determining when we need to implement restrictions in the face of Ramadan and also the exodus for Eid later," she added.
Regarding vaccination, she said that the government is targeting to have 70 percent of the Indonesian population vaccinated with the primary doses by the end of April 2022.
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Tarmizi said that by accelerating primary vaccinations, herd immunity can be accelerated.
"So this (acceleration of vaccinations) is what we are doing," she added.
The spokesperson noted that if the vaccination rate reaches 750 thousand doses per day, the vaccination coverage by the end of April 2022 would be 70 percent.
Based on the results of serological surveys, antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 virus have already been formed in most of the Indonesian population, she added.
"Of course, with a combination of those things and the achievement of herd immunity, we will be able to get on track to move toward the endemic (phase)," she remarked.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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