Year-end Target, The Second Dose Of Vaccine Must Reach 113 Million

JAKARTA - The government has set a target regarding vaccination, especially the second dose. The second dose of vaccination must reach 41.8% of the total population of Indonesia or 113 million people by the end of 2021.

"Our target at the end of the year is 41.8 percent or around 113 million people and now around 37 percent or 99.6 million people have been vaccinated. This is a challenge to at least at the end of the year," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto , Jakarta, Tuesday, December 7, reported by Antara.

He said, the government's target exceeded the directives from the World Health Organization (WHO), which was that 40 percent of the population had to be vaccinated against the second dose of COVID-19 by the end of this year.

This must be done considering that if the pandemic is not resolved immediately, it will continue to suppress people's lives and disrupt economic recovery efforts.

He explained that the opening of the economy is still very dependent on the way the Indonesian and global governments deal with the pandemic, including the new variant of Omicron.

"Including how not to panic in the face of the new variant," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto.

According to him, the emergence of a new variant of Omicron is the result of a lack of vaccination, especially in poor countries, given that they do not have access to a COVID-19 vaccine.

Coordinating Minister Airlangga said the Omicron variant emerged from South Africa, which has a vaccination rate of only 24 percent, while the entire African continent only has 7 percent.

Therefore, Airlangga emphasized that one of the roles of the Indonesian government in encouraging the realization of vaccination both at home and abroad is through the G20 RI Presidency.

He said global collaboration through the G20 is needed so that breakthrough steps can be issued that are stronger, concrete, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

"The presidency shows Indonesia's opportunity for leadership at the global level in responding to the various challenges that exist," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga Hartarto.