Mr. President has given directions for all Hajj pilgrims who have returned (to Indonesia) and have not received the booster dose to get the booster dose while waiting at the Hajj dormitories before being picked up by their families.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked Hajj pilgrims who have just returned to Indonesia from Saudi Arabia to get the booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Hajj dormitories before their families pick them up.

“Mr. President has given directions for all Hajj pilgrims who have returned (to Indonesia) and have not received the booster dose to get the booster dose while waiting at the Hajj dormitories before being picked up by their families," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said at the Presidential Office, the Presidential Palace Complex, here on Monday.

He made the statement after attending a limited meeting on the evaluation of public activity restrictions (PPKM).

Booster vaccinations have proven effective in providing extra protection to the community from hospitalization or death from COVID-19 infection, he explained.

According to Sadikin, the majority of COVID-19 patients who have died so far are those who have not received the vaccine or have only obtained the first dose.

The minister also said that the President has called for an acceleration in the provision of booster vaccinations for the general public.

The government will make booster vaccination a requirement for people for conducting several activities, he informed.

At the limited meeting, Sadikin reported to President Widodo that Indonesia's COVID-19 cases have continued to increase.

"Indonesia is similar to India, where the increase has not been fast but is rising slowly, steadily, and we haven't seen the peak reach fast, as happened in other countries," he remarked.

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.

According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of July 18, 2022, as many as 201,966,816 Indonesians have received the first vaccine dose, 169,582,051 have been administered the second dose, and 53,126,957 have taken the booster dose.

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Translator: Indra Arief, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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