Not Just Omicron, Delta Variant Still Exists And Dominates In Several Regions

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi reminded that the Delta variant still dominates COVID-19 cases in several regions in Indonesia and coupled with the potential for Omicron, it is necessary to prepare health service facilities.

"Once again, we remind together that apart from the Omicron variant, which is certainly an issue for us at the moment, we are starting to be wary of an increase in local transmission," said Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi in a virtual discussion with Indonesian Lung Doctors Association (PDPI), in Jakarta, Saturday, January 22 reported by Antara.

"But we can see that the Delta variant is still quite dominant in several regions in Indonesia," she added.

This means, said Nadia, that the preparedness of health care facilities is also important considering that the Delta variant is still a fairly dominant variant in several regions in Indonesia.

The Director of Prevention and Control of Vector and Zoonotic Diseases of the Directorate General of P2P of the Ministry of Health also said that vaccination still provides substantial protection from COVID-19, including the Omicron variant.

"Even though there is a decrease in the efficacy of the current vaccine, we then see that the T cell system still provides protection," she explained.

Regarding this, Nadia explained that one of the reasons why Omicron cases spread very quickly but tended to be asymptomatic or mild symptoms was due to protection from vaccination.

COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia itself until January 22, 2022, at 12.00 p.m. has reached 123.782.386 people who received two doses of vaccine or 59.43 percent of the target of 208.265.720 people set by the government, according to data on the Ministry of Health website.