Indonesia Has Surpassed WHO's Vaccination Target

TheIndonesia.id - Deputy Minister of Health, Dante Saksono Harbuwono, announced that Indonesia's COVID-19 vaccination rate had exceeded the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

"The WHO has targeted countries to reach 40 percent vaccination coverage by December 2021. Currently, we have surpassed that," he said at the 2022 IDX Channel Economic Outlook, accessed by Antara news agency, Wednesday, December 15, 2021.

Vaccination acceleration must be carried out in a bid to reach herd immunity, he added. For this, the government is continuing to make efforts to meet the nation's vaccine needs, he continued.

The Indonesian government has also started COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 6–11, he noted. Third dose or booster vaccinations will also be rolled out on January 1, 2022, he added.

The booster vaccinations will be administered free of charge to people registered as government assistance recipients, he informed. Meanwhile, paid booster vaccinations will involve the private sector, he added.

However, the doses will still be prioritized for second dose vaccinations, which are targeted to be completed no later than the first quarter of 2022, he said. Meanwhile, the government will coordinate the number and types of vaccines to be imported by the private sector for booster vaccinations, he added.

"For the paid booster vaccination, it will be administered in places provided by the private sector. Meanwhile, for the free booster vaccination program, it will only be administered at public health centers and government hospitals," he informed.

He said he believes that the vaccine supply for the booster vaccination program will be sufficient because the government is currently trying to develop the locally-made Red and White vaccine.

In a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021.
According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of December 15, 2021, nearly 148,344,215 citizens have received their first COVID-19 shot, while 104,522,156 have been fully vaccinated against the virus.