The inauguration of the use of domestic vaccines, Indovac and Inavac, will meet the needs for COVID-19 booster (vaccines)
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Health noted that the locally made COVID-19 vaccines, Indovac and Inavac, will support Indonesia in meeting the need for booster vaccines.

"The inauguration of the use of domestic vaccines, Indovac and Inavac, will meet the needs for COVID-19 booster (vaccines)," spokesperson of the Ministry of Health, Mohammad Syahril, stated at a press conference on the COVID-19 development update on Thursday.

According to Syahril, currently, the government has six million COVID-19 vaccine doses in stock that will meet the need for booster vaccines in the country.

"Indeed, in August, September, and October, there were vaccine shortages. Currently, there are around six million vaccine doses, and 2.5 million have been distributed," he stated.

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On the occasion, Syahril urged members of the community to get vaccinated immediately to protect themselves amid the current rise in COVID-19 cases.

"The aim of the vaccine is to increase (the level of) antibodies. Currently, for the third dose, we are targeting 50 percent (coverage) and then to (reach) more than 70 percent," he noted.

According to data from the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, 65,601,788 citizens have received the third dose, or booster dose, as of Thursday, November 10, 2022.

Hence, the coverage has only reached 27.95 percent of the total target of 234,666,020 citizens.


Related news: New sub-variants triggering COVID spike: minister


Earlier, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin noted that the recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia had been caused by the emergence of three new sub-variants.

"COVID-19 cases in Indonesia are increasing due to new variants. There are three new variants, BA2.75, XBB, and BQ1. BQ1 is dominating the cases in Indonesia," he said in Surabaya on Wednesday.

The new sub-variants are characterized by rapid transmission that has resulted in a spike in infections, he remarked.

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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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