"We will conduct the third sero survey, starting today, as an effort to formulate more precise policies, especially during the August-September period, ahead of our Independence Day," Sadikin noted in a press statement after attending the community mobility restriction (PPKM) evaluation meeting at the State Palace on Monday.
He later explained that the sero survey will start on Monday and in the next month, the result of research on antibodies against the virus are expected to be seen to help the government in applying apposite policies related to health protocols and vaccinations ahead of Independence Day on August 17.
The results of the earlier sero survey in March 2022 showed that 99.2 percent of Indonesian people had antibodies, with antibody levels of around 3,000-4,000.
This result was an increase as compared to a study in December 2021 that showed 88 percent of the Indonesian population had new antibodies, with a level of 400-500.
Related news: Third stage sero survey to be held in June-July 2022: Health Minister
Sadikin remarked that COVID-19 cases in Indonesia are 80-percent dominated by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants tested with the genome sequence.
The number of cases of the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in Jakarta was also observed to have reached 100 percent, he stated.
Despite an increase in the number of cases, the minister reported a decline due to the high antibody levels in Indonesian people.
"(The number of) COVID-19 cases in Indonesia could drop lower by four to five percent as compared to the previous peak, while other countries peaked at 30 percent. The sero survey in last March showed that (the levels of) our antibodies were still high," he noted.
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Translator: Mentari Dwi G, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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