VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

As many as 27.9 million Indonesian citizens have received the third or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force has reported.

According to the task force data received by ANTARA here on Tuesday, the number of people who have received the booster dose increased by 669,139 on Tuesday, taking the total number of booster recipients to 27,960,917.

Meanwhile, the number of second dose recipients grew by 227,644 to reach 161,761,633.

An increase was also recorded in the number of first dose recipients. Based on the data, the number of people who received the first shot swelled by 119,894 to touch 197,660,336 as of Tuesday.

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 across the country.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has emphasized that vaccine stocks are still adequate to vaccinate people and protect them from COVID-19 transmission during Eid mudik (homecoming exodus) activities.

"What we want to emphasize is that the Ministry of Health ensures the availability of vaccines. So, even if there are areas that may be running out (of vaccines), we can assure you that we will immediately refill and distribute them (the vaccines)," she asserted.

To ensure that all family members can join the Eid exodus and carry out Eid activities comfortably, people must get the booster dose promptly, she said.

According to Tarmizi, the booster dose will not only provide protection to people while traveling for the homecoming exodus, but also when gathering with families after they arrive. (Antaranews)