Jakarta (ANTARA) - As many as 25.2 million Indonesian citizens have received the third or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force reported.

According to data from the task force, accessed by ANTARA here on Wednesday, the number of booster dose recipients rose by 1,250,477 on Wednesday, taking the total number of people who have received the booster to 25,296,816.

For the second dose vaccinations, the number of recipients increased by 634,177 to reach 160,741,389 on Wednesday, the task force's data revealed.

An increase was also recorded in the number of first dose recipients. Based on the data, the number of people who have received the first shot swelled by 227,752 to 197,107,907 as of Wednesday.

As part of efforts to boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, targeting as many as 208,265,720 citizens across the country.

Earlier, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force had reminded people seeking to join the 2022 Eid homecoming exodus to get the booster dose as soon as possible to maintain public health and safety.

"Whoever who has not received the booster (dose), immediately get the booster. Whoever who has not completed (the primary) vaccination, immediately complete it to receive the booster," spokesperson for the COVID-19 handling task force, Wiku Adisasmito, said.

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The government will not ban people from joining the exodus, but they must get the booster shot first, he added.

They must also make sure that the relatives whom they visit have completed primary vaccinations and have received a booster shot.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of April 6, 2022, Indonesia has recorded a total of 6,026,324 COVID-19 cases, 5,788,714 recoveries, and 155,464 deaths.

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Translator: Hreeloita Dharma, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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