The Ministry Of Health Explains 3 Factors That Make Indonesia Haven't Got A 'Ticket' To WHO Endemic Status

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JAKARTA - Secretary of the Directorate General of Public Health Siti Nadia Tarmizi said there were three factors that made Indonesia not yet reach the COVID-19 vaccination standard from the World Health Organization (WHO) for endemic status.

To note, the endemic standard from the WHO is the COVID-19 vaccination coverage of 70 percent of the entire population.

"Until now, if we look at approximately 168 million people who have received it completely. So if we compare it, this is approximately 62 percent of the total population," said Nadia in a speech entitled "Repel Mutant Viruses with Booster Vaccines," followed online in Jakarta, Antara, Monday, June 13.

Nadia is quite sure, yes, that the achievement of vaccination is 70 percent, this can be pursued by the end of June 2022.

According to him, several factors influenced why the second dose had not been reached, the first was because many residents had not been able to get the second dose of injection because they had tested positive for COVID-19. Although the symptoms are mild, it still takes time to get the injection.

The second is because the situation continues to improve, then feel no need to get protection by supplementing up to the second dose. "This means that education must continue to remind us that the COVID-19 pandemic situation is not over yet," said Nadia.

While the third is that there are some residents who are still hampered by geographical problems. This means that it takes time for health workers to reach these areas to complete the second dose for the community.

"The number of provinces that have not received or has not reached 70 percent is only between 6-7 provinces. But if we talk about districts, cities are still quite scattered, yes. Even in provinces that have totaled 70 percent, it turns out there are still also the regencies and cities which have not yet reached 70 percent," said Nadia.

Therefore, the government needs to accelerate by opening more vaccination centers, again inviting community leaders to socialize the importance of vaccination efforts, and explaining that the pandemic is not over yet.

"Lastly, it is important to fight hoaxes, because it causes people to be hesitant to receive a second dose of vaccine," he said.