We expand (our) reach of the booster vaccine not only in health facilities (in terms of) regular services but also in regional areas
Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - The rate of booster vaccination in Yogyakarta has increased, nearing 70 percent, as more people were interested to receive the additional dose.

"About two to three weeks ago, the rate of booster dose vaccination was only around 50 percent, but now, it has reached almost 70 percent," Head of the Yogyakarta COVID-19 Task Force Heroe Poerwadi stated in Yogyakarta, on Wednesday.

According to data from the Yogyakarta Health Office, as of Tuesday, April 5, some 192,344 people, or about 65 percent of the vaccination target, had received the booster dose.

Poerwadi remarked that the increase in booster vaccination rate occurred partly due to mass vaccination programs being expedited in villages and sub-districts.

"We expand (our) reach of the booster vaccine not only in health facilities (in terms of) regular services but also in regional areas," he stated.

"We provide a quota of up to 600 doses for vaccination in the regional scope. The available quotas were immediately exhausted, and sometimes, (it could not meet the needs or interest). Public interest is very high," he added.

Poerwadi noted that the government's policy, necessitating COVID-19 vaccination as a domestic travel requirement, was one of the triggers for the jump in COVID-19 vaccination rate.

The Yogyakarta city government had expedited the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination in the last month, in the hope that more people would partake in booster vaccinations during Ramadan, he remarked.

"If many residents have received booster doses, it is expected that residents can conduct worship activities (during Ramadan) even (better)," he remarked.

The city government was currently still focusing on meeting the target of booster vaccinations for residents of Yogyakarta.

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Translator: Eka Arifa R, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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