Banten Deputy Governor: Low Vaccination Is Constrained By Vaccine Supply From The Center

SERANG - Deputy Governor of Banten, Andika Hazrumy, revealed that three districts had low COVID-19 vaccination coverage due to the low supply of vaccines from the central government to Banten.

"It is true that distribution from the center is still limited. If we are in the province, how much will the center send, we will distribute it directly to regencies/cities", Andika said as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, September 22.

The statement was in response to President Joko Widodo's statement in a briefing to Forkompinda throughout Banten during a working visit in Banten, the province's vaccination rate is still low.

According to Andika, from the target of around 18 million doses of COVID-19 vaccination in Banten Province, the central government has only allocated around 8.5 million doses.

"The target is 70 percent of the population, so around 9 million people. This means that we need 18 million doses to cover twice the dose. Meanwhile, the allocation and distribution from the center for Banten are only 8.5 million doses", said Andika.

Andika said that the Banten Provincial Government had proposed to President Jokowi during his working visit on Tuesday, September 21 in Serang City, that the buffer areas of the State capital such as Banten Province should prioritize the allocation and distribution of vaccines.

According to him, the central government's priority to DKI Jakarta so far will not work well if the buffer areas are not prioritized.

"It's useless if Jakarta is clear as well if Tangerang people who have a lot of activities in Jakarta have not been covered", said Andika.

Data from the Health Office of Banten Province said Andika, the implementation of vaccination in Banten Province currently has reached more than 3.6 million targets or 39.56 percent have been vaccinated with the first dose. And as many as 2 million more targets or 20.55 percent have received the second dose of the total target of 9,229,383 targets.

Previously, President Jokowi during a visit to Banten highlighted the low achievement of vaccination in three areas in Banten Province. The three districts are Serang, Pandeglang, and Lebak districts. In these three regions, the vaccination achievement is still below 20 percent.