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Govt simplifies COVID-19 jab regimen as part of endemic policy
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A health worker performs an initial check before administering a dose of the Pfizer-brand COVID-19 vaccine at a health center in Jakarta on Feb. 1. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he Health Ministry has scrapped a complex set of rules prescribing which vaccine brands were to be used at which stages of the COVID-19 vaccination regimen, opting instead to allow people to get any generally approved vaccine for their primary and booster doses, as policymakers shift toward treating the coronavirus as an endemic disease.
Health Ministry spokesman Mohammad Syahril said the simplification of the shot regimen was intended to improve national vaccine coverage for primary and booster doses.
Under the ministry’s previous vaccination rules, the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had to be of the same brand, and the subsequent booster shot had to be one of a corresponding set of brands.
This made it difficult for some people to get vaccinated, as persistent vaccine shortages in the country meant the required vaccine was not always available.
In addition, many people were selective about which vaccine brand they wanted to receive.
“[Under the new arrangement], people who have not completed the primary dose and follow-up doses can get their COVID-19 vaccination with any available vaccine. But people will still need to wait six months after getting their second dose to get a booster dose," Syahril said in a statement on Friday.
