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Relief, reservation as Indonesia rolls out booster shots for general public
The elderly and immunocompromised people were the latest recipients of a free third dose of COVID-19 vaccines in a nationwide rollout that began on Wednesday, part of wider efforts to boost immunity against a more transmissible Omicron variant.
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A woman receives a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Jakarta on Wednesday. (AFP/Adek Berry)
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ndonesia on Wednesday took another big step toward protecting vulnerable members of its population from the spread of the Omicron strain of COVID-19, with the government kicking off its nationwide rollout of vaccine booster shots for the general population.
The elderly, defined as those aged over 60, and immunocompromised people became the latest recipients of a free third dose of vaccines at local health facilities such as the Kramat Jati community health center (Puskesmas) in East Jakarta and the South Tangerang Regional Hospital, Banten, part of wider efforts to boost immunity against the more transmissible virus variant.
“I feel safer,” said Nurlaeni, 77, after receiving her booster shot on Wednesday morning, as quoted by Reuters. “There's more Omicron now, so I feel relieved.”
Prior to Wednesday, the country had only been offering booster shots to frontline medics and public officials.
The booster rollout began as officials started seeing an increase in the virus case load over the past week, with 802 new COVID-19 cases recorded on Tuesday, the highest in nearly three months.
The uptick in cases is partly caused by the influx of returning travelers exposed to the Omicron strain abroad, prompting officials to discourage people from traveling overseas for the next few weeks.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Wednesday that authorities were expecting the numbers to peak in February.
