JAKARTA: At least 159.95 million Indonesian citizens have completed the two-dose Covid-19 vaccination series as of Saturday, according to the Covid-19 Handling Task Force.
According to data from the task force, accessed by Antara here on Saturday, the number of second dose recipients rose by 264,499 on Saturday, taking the total count to 159,950,991 so far.
Meanwhile, the number of first dose recipients reached 196,850,337, with 131,237 citizens receiving their first shot on Saturday.
According to the task force, 560,231 people received the third or booster dose on Saturday, taking the total number of booster recipients to 23,574,482.
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 in the country.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that the booster dose is essential protection for people seeking to join the 2022 Eid homecoming exodus to reduce the risk of severe illness upon contracting Covid-19.
“The high mobility of the community can cause higher transmission of Covid-19. For that reason, booster vaccination is important to help reduce the impact of illness if contracting Covid-19,” the spokesperson remarked.
Public mobility during the Eid exodus is considered to be massive because it involves millions of people, she said. – Antara News
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