The decline in vaccination rates in the past seven weeks has been triggered by some people and local governments being picky over vaccine brands, an official from the Ministry of Health has said.

“They are delaying vaccinations waiting for a certain brand,” spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccinations for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, confirmed here on Thursday.

Among the reasons several people are being picky about vaccine brands are hoaxes, she added.

“However, there are also some that did not receive the (right) information because they live in rural areas,” she said.

Meanwhile, some regional governments are being picky because they are afraid they will not get the target recipients, she added.

She affirmed that the Ministry of Health is still waiting for vaccine supply for the second dose vaccinations to arrive in the country.

According to Tarmizi, to boost public participation in the national vaccination program, people should be educated that the best vaccines are those that are currently available. Thus, they should not be picky, she added.

She appealed to those who have not received COVID-19 shots to promptly register for vaccination to help the country reach herd immunity and move from the pandemic to endemic phase.

The spokesperson also reminded people to be careful in taking medicines for treating COVID-19 and not be easily influenced by the promotion of medicinal products, traditional medicines, and health supplements claiming to prevent or treat COVID-19.

In a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021.

According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of November 18, 2021, nearly 132,299,729 citizens have received their first COVID-19 shot, while 86,508,226 have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Source: Antara News