Aceh Residents Allowed To Get New Booster Vaccine 11 Percent

JAKARTA - The Aceh Health Service said that the third or booster dose of COVID-19 vaccination has only reached 11 percent of the 3.5 million people who were targeted for booster dose vaccination.

The Head of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Aceh Health Service, Iman Cheapman, explained Thursday, April 14, that booster vaccination in Aceh is only for residents over the age of 18, including health workers, the elderly, the general public and the vulnerable.

"Starting from health workers, the general and vulnerable communities as well as the elderly, our coverage is only about 11 percent of the target," said Iman as quoted by Antara.

Iman explained that in general, the vaccination target in Aceh is 4.6 million people. After deducting the population under the age of 18, namely the group of teenagers and children, the remaining 3.5 million people are targeted for booster vaccination.

Indeed, according to Iman, there is a delay for Aceh in increasing the booster vaccination coverage. The reason is that Aceh is only pursuing the second dose of vaccination coverage so that it can reach above 80 percent in February and March 2022.

"So the booster vaccination is still being carried out in April. So we hope this April, hopefully our achievements can increase," said Iman.

The Aceh government continues its efforts to intensify vaccination in all districts/cities. Currently, areas in Aceh continue to vaccinate at health facilities, and vaccination centers at night, after Tarawih Prayers.

Especially, areas that are often traversed by land transportation so that activities will be maximized, starting from the terminal to the border post. This booster vaccination is also to anticipate a surge in COVID-19 cases ahead of Eid Al-Fitr 1443 Hijri.

"Currently regencies/cities carry out vaccinations at night after tarawih, in Langsa City, Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, Subulussalam, and several other areas," he said.

For booster vaccination, the Government of Aceh offers two choices of vaccine doses, namely Pfizer and Moderna. Previously there was a dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, but currently the stock in Aceh is empty.

"Hopefully, the vaccination activities after this tarawih will increase the coverage of booster vaccinations," he said.