"In this Ramadan, in total, there was a slowdown for the first dose, second dose, and third dose (vaccinations)," spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said at a virtual press conference accessed here on Tuesday.
The acceleration of vaccinations occurred in the provinces of West Java, East Java, North Sumatra, and Jakarta, she added. Meanwhile, other provinces experienced a slowdown in immunizations.
"The government requires a minimum injection rate of 750 thousand per day to meet the target of fully vaccinating 70 percent of the entire population during Ramadan," Tarmizi said.
One of the efforts that the government has made to accelerate vaccinations is making full vaccination and booster dose a requirement for people who want to join the Eid homecoming exodus, she pointed out.
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The pace of third dose vaccinations has increased after the issuance of the policy, she noted.
In addition, the government has also involved officers of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) in expediting vaccinations in several regions during Ramadan.
The spokesperson appealed to the community to immediately get fully vaccinated and get the booster dose as a form of protection.
She said that vaccination could protect people during the Eid exodus activities.
"We are optimistic that we can put an end to this pandemic with a strong collaboration between the government and the community and other sectors," she remarked.
Tarmizi also advised people to not be picky over vaccines or indulge in "vaccine shopping,” saying that the best vaccines are those that are currently available.
As part of efforts to boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government rolled out a nationwide vaccination program targeting 208,265,720 citizens on January 13, 2021.
According to the Health Ministry's data, as of April 12, 2022, nearly 197,664,548 Indonesians have received their first COVID-19 jab, 161,769,783 have been fully vaccinated, and 27,989,859 have received the booster shot.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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