Task Force Discusses Second Booster Dose, What About Recipients of the First Booster Dose in Indonesia?

The Indonesian government has completed the second COVID-19 booster vaccination for healthcare workers (HCWs). A total of 1.9 million HCWs were targeted for the second booster. When will the second booster vaccination be available to the general public?

The Director General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Dr. Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, stated that there is no policy yet for the implementation of a second booster vaccine for the public.

"There is no policy yet; we'll finish the first one first. The first booster is only at 20 percent," Maxi said, as quoted by Detik.com on Monday (8/8/2022).

According to data from the Ministry of Health, as of 6 PM WIB on August 8, 2022, approximately 57.74 million doses of the first COVID-19 booster vaccine have been administered to the public.

Therefore, the national booster vaccination coverage has reached 24.61% of the total target of 208.26 million people.

The most booster vaccines were administered to vulnerable and general populations, totaling 40.04 million doses. This is equivalent to 28.36% of the target of 141.21 million doses.

Booster vaccinations for public officials totaled 8.32 million doses, or approximately 48.03% of the target of 17.32 million doses. For the elderly, 6.08 million doses were administered, or approximately 28.25% of the target of 21.55 million doses.

Furthermore, 1.69 million doses of the booster vaccine have been administered to healthcare workers, or 115.71% of the target of 1.46 million doses.

Finally, 764,180 doses of the booster vaccine were administered to educators, and 608,280 doses to community groups. There is no data on the booster vaccination achievement for the 6-11 and 12-17 age groups on the Ministry of Health's website.

Booster vaccinations are crucial in preventing severe illness in individuals infected with COVID-19. This is supported by a study conducted by researchers from the Pandemic Team of the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) at the University of Indonesia (UI).

"Individuals who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine are 28 times more likely to die compared to those who have received the booster vaccine," according to the study, quoted on Friday (22/7/2022).