VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 16 - A total of 146,738 Indonesians received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, taking the total tally to 4,166,862 since the vaccination campaign was rolled out on January 13, 2021.

Of the 4,166,862 people, at least 1,572,786 have received their second vaccine shot, up 112,564 compared to the previous day, according to data from the COVID-19 Response Task Force.

The central government is aiming to inoculate 181,554,465 people, or 70 percent of the total Indonesian population, to build herd immunity against the coronavirus.

To achieve the target, the government is making efforts to increase the capacity of vaccination services.

The first phase of the vaccination program, which commenced on January 13, 2021, targeted healthcare workers.

Meanwhile, the second phase of the vaccination program began on February 17, 2021 and is seeking to cover 30 million people — 21 million senior citizens and 16 million public service officers, including state officials, government employees, religious figures, traders, teachers, lecturers, athletes, journalists, and tourism operators.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said he is optimistic that about 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine would be administered daily to the public in the second semester of 2021 to achieve the vaccination target.

"Nearly 75 percent of the vaccine will be ready starting from July (2021). If 181.5 million doses (of the vaccine) are to be offered over 365 days, then one million people need to be vaccinated everyday, if the quantity of vaccines is the same for each day. Much of the vaccines will be available in the second semester of 2021," he informed. (Antaranews)