Vaccination For The Elderly In 3 Provinces Of Java Island Is Still Low

Government Spokesperson for Handling COVID-19 Prof Wiku Adisasmito/screenshot via Antara

JAKARTA - Government Spokesperson for Handling COVID-19 Prof Wiku Adisasmito said the coverage of full-dose COVID-19 vaccination for the elderly in three provinces on the island of Java is still relatively low compared to other areas.

“It is also important to focus on protecting vulnerable groups. One of them is the elderly, although the COVID-19 cases have subsided, the threat is still there," said Wiku as quoted by Antara, Thursday, June 2.

Wiku said the three provinces with the lowest vaccination coverage for the elderly were Banten 68.9 percent, Central Java 67.4 percent and East Java 64.1 percent.

The low coverage of full-dose vaccination is very dangerous because the elderly are one of the groups most vulnerable to contracting COVID-19 and its very significant impact, namely severe symptoms due to congenital disease or death.

According to him, the vaccination coverage must continue to be increased in order to provide the widest possible protection to every community group. Another effort that can be done is to periodically monitor the body's antibodies against viruses in the community.

One example is through a sero survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in March 2022. The results of the survey show that the antibodies possessed by Indonesians of all ages have reached 99.2 percent, both from vaccination and viral infection.

Through the survey, it was also known that the highest increase in antibodies was in the 1-11 year age group, which was 21.8 percent and 7.6 percent in the age group above 60 years.

"For this reason, I remind the entire community and government not to be careless and stay alert during the pandemic. COVID-19 has not been revoked by WHO globally, although cases in Indonesia have declined," said Wiku.

Wiku emphasized that the elderly must continue to be protected. This is because the success of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia must continue to be maintained and strived to last as long as possible, where one way is through COVID-19 vaccination which can reduce the potential for fatalities.

“Vulnerable groups are important to be a top priority. Protection must continue to be increased both in the second and third dose vaccination coverage for the elderly," he said.