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Booster shots to be rolled out for public in March next year
The government is going to start rolling out COVID-19 vaccine booster shots starting next year, prioritizing the provisional oversupply of shots to be administered for the elderly and people with immunity problems.
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A man receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination program for foreigners in Jakarta on Aug. 24, 2021. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
T
he government is pushing through with a plan to roll out COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for the public early next year, as it looks to conclude a procurement drive that will see it get hold of enough doses to fully inoculate its target population of 208 million by year’s end.
After the lengthy back-and-forth process of bilateral and multilateral procurements, Indonesia is expected to get a total of 448 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the year, which is more than enough to reach its targeted coverage.
The overstock would then be used as boosters, given that only health workers have had access to a third shot since late July. As of Thursday, some 1.1 million people in the medical field have received a booster jab, or just over 75 percent of the targeted population group.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government would start giving out booster shots to a wider range of people starting next year.
“Like the seven other countries that have started administering booster shots, and in accordance with World Health Organization recommendations, [the doses] will be prioritized for people at high risk or those with immunodeficiency,” Budi said during the press briefing.
After the booster shots for medical workers are complete, the government will prioritize third doses for the elderly, as they are the other population group that is considered to be at high risk of infection, along with cancer and HIV patients.
Ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the government was currently waiting on the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) to finish its research into which vaccine booster combinations would be the safest for Indonesia’s population.
