The Ministry Of Health Ensures People Won't Get The Third Dose Of The COVID-19 Vaccine This Year

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) ensures that the general public will not receive a third or booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine this year. This was conveyed by Spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi.

"(The booster vaccine for the community, ed) not in 2021, right," Nadia told reporters quoted on Tuesday, August 10.

He said that currently the booster vaccine is focused on health workers to prevent exposure to the virus, especially the Delta variant when treating COVID-19 patients.

"The risk of health workers dealing with the Delta (variant, red) virus is greater than that of the community. Their level of exposure is very high and the risk of infection is high, so health workers need to be given extra protection," he said.

Nadia ensures that the booster vaccine or the third dose will not cause any harm. Because, the side effects will be the same as the vaccine at the previous dose.

Previously, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin warned that the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine or booster was only allowed for health workers and should not be transferred to the general public. In addition, he also asked for the booster injection to be done quickly.

"Please immediately give the health workers an injection (the COVID-19 vaccine booster, ed). The Health Office will immediately inject it. I sincerely implore you, please don't be transferred to non-health workers," Budi said in an online press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Monday. , August 2nd.

He said health workers should be a priority in giving booster vaccines so that they are ready to deal with COVID-19 patients.

"I sincerely request that it be immediately injected to all of our health workers so that they are better prepared to deal with incoming patients," said Budi.