"Readiness to start the transition process towards endemic require support and awareness from all levels of society," the ministry's deputy for coordination of health quality improvement and population development, Agus Suprapto, said in Jakarta on Saturday.
Such awareness can be realized by supporting the government's efforts to increase the coverage of COVID-19 vaccination, especially booster doses, Suprapto added.
"Increasing the (coverage of the) booster dose of the vaccination is one of the main aspects to support the transition to recovery or endemic (stage),” he said.
For this matter, the ministry is asking the public to take the COVID-19 vaccination, starting from the first dose to the third dose, without delay.
"Besides vaccination, people also need to continue to follow the health protocols, such as wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining distance," Suprapto continued.
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He also highlighted the importance of the booster vaccine for the elderly group for providing more optimal protection from the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
"We continue to remind that booster vaccination is needed to reduce hospitalization rates and prevent illness with severe symptoms. Let us play an active role in increasing the coverage of the booster vaccine," he emphasized.
Data from the COVID-19 task force showed that as of Friday, the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to 204,678,004 people, an increase of 10,782 compared to the previous day.
Meanwhile, the number of recipients of the second dose stood at 171,297,896, an increase of 11,050 compared to the previous day.
Further, the number of recipients of the third dose or booster vaccine increased by 38,341, bringing the cumulative total to 63,958,444.
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Translator: Wuryanti Puspitasari, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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