Some 1.7 million residents of Surabaya have received their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, thereby indicating 77 percent of the targeted 2.2 million being vaccinated, according to Head of the Surabaya Government’s Public Relations Febriadhitya Prajatara.
“For the second dose, around 1.2 million people have been vaccinated, or it is still at 54 percent,” Prajatara stated on Wednesday.
He explained that the 1.7 million residents administered the first dose of vaccine, comprised several groups: 915 thousand from the public service category, 466 thousand from the general or vulnerable category, around 216 thousand elderly, 44 thousand teenagers, and 44 thousand health workers.
“Meanwhile, 13,697 health workers had received the third dose of the vaccine,” he added. The PR head later noted that the third dose of the Moderna vaccine for health workers will be administered in stages. This is since each person will experience different Post-Immunization Accidents (KIPI) after vaccination.
“Each individual will experience different side-effects of the Moderna vaccine. Hence, we conduct it gradually,” Prajatara remarked.
He noted that currently, the availability of vaccines was still limited. However, he has striven to offer the first and second dose of vaccination to Surabaya’s residents. Hence, vaccination is implemented through an invitation system at every Community Health Center (Puskesmas). “Currently, the number of vaccines is limited. Hence, our vaccination program is based on invitation only. The invitation can be in the form of a mobile vaccine rapid response car or through health centers in each area,” he remarked.
Prajatara ensured that the government will continue to coordinate with the East Java Provincial Government and the Central Government regarding the availability of vaccines in order to accelerate vaccination for the citizens of Surabaya.
“We continue to coordinate with the East Java provincial government and the central government, so that we can accelerate the provision of vaccines,” he said.
Source: Antara News