VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

At least 114.82 million Indonesians have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine so far, according to data released by the COVID-19 Task Force on Wednesday.

The number of people who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine increased by 256,668 to reach 114,822,604 on Wednesday, it said.

Meanwhile, the number of recipients of the first vaccine dose increased by 572,376 to take the total tally to 167,226,243.

According to the task force, the number of third dose recipients reached 1,295,326.

The government is planning to vaccinate 208,265,720 million people under the national immunization program.

Thus, so far, the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine has been given to 80.29 percent and the second dose to 55.13 percent of the targeted residents.

According to a member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives, Kurniasih Mufidayati, the completion of the second dose and the vaccination of children are important along with the booster vaccination program for controlling the pandemic.

"The plan for booster vaccines should not neglect the focus on achieving national vaccinations," she said.

She expressed the hope that COVID-19 booster vaccines will be provided to the community free of charge, especially for the lower middle class.

"If there is a company that wants to carry out booster vaccinations independently for its employees, that is fine, as long as it does not deduct (the cost of the vaccines) from the salaries of its employees," she said.

The COVID-19 Handling Task Force earlier highlighted that a survey of 100 districts and cities had shown that 86.6 percent of Indonesians in the areas had antibodies against COVID-19.

"According to the serosurvey conducted in 100 districts and cities in several agglomeration and non-agglomeration areas during the November–December 2021 period, 86.6 percent of the population in the surveyed areas have had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, both caused by past infection or vaccination," spokesperson for the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said during an online press conference on Tuesday.

Moreover, at least 73.2 percent of the population in the 100 areas also had antibodies despite never testing positive for COVID-19 and getting vaccinated against the virus, he noted.

Adisasmito expressed the hope that the public would increase compliance with the health protocols.

He also called for increased testing and tracing for screening Omicron infections among members of the community.

The spokesperson affirmed that the central government has continued to coordinate with regional governments to prepare a contingency plan and take precautionary measures against a likely spike in COVID-19 cases.

He said that the latest circular of the Task Force will also list countries whose travelers will need to undergo a 10-day quarantine upon arrival in Indonesia as well as further stipulations related to quarantine dispensation. (Antaranews)