The number of Indonesians who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or have been fully vaccinated has crossed 135 million as of 12 noon on Monday, according to the Health Ministry’s data.
The number of people receiving the second dose rose by 47,353 on Monday, taking the total number of fully vaccinated people to 135,814,029, as per data received on Monday.
Meanwhile, the number of people who have received at least the first dose under the national COVID-19 vaccination program reached 188,338,544, with 55,693 Indonesians receiving the first dose on Monday.
In addition, the number of third or booster dose recipients rose by 10,414 to 7,059,145.
The Indonesian government is targeting to inoculate 208,265,720 citizens to achieve community or herd immunity.
Even after receiving the vaccine, the community must consistently follow the health protocols as the pandemic has not ended yet, the government has said.
The health protocols include wearing masks, washing hands, maintaining social distance, reducing mobility, and avoiding crowds.
Earlier, spokesperson and secretary-general of public health at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, appealed to the community to remain calm but alert amid the increase in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
“Although cases are increasing rapidly because the virus spreads faster than Delta, the symptoms caused by Omicron are not as severe as the Delta variant as most patients are asymptomatic and experiencing mild symptoms,” she remarked.
In addition, the bed occupancy rate of hospitals is also still under control compared to last year, Tarmizi noted.
The spokesperson advised COVID-19 patients who are experiencing mild symptoms or those who are asymptomatic to self-isolate at home or at isolation centers readied by the government.
Patients who are self-isolating at home can use telemedicine services, if available, or report to the nearest community health center (puskesmas) to be monitored by health workers, she added.
Source: Antara News