Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Health Ministry announced on Monday that the third COVID-19 shots or booster vaccination would only be given to 1.5 million health workers who had received the first and second doses.
"We urge the public to refrain from compelling vaccinators to give them a third dose of the vaccine. Please consider our limited stocks of vaccines and the other 160 million Indonesians who have yet to get vaccinated," the ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination Program Siti Nadia Tarmizi said.
The Health Ministry has issued Director General of Communicable Disease Prevention and Control’s Circular Letter HK.02.01/1/1919/2021 on the third-dose vaccination for all health workers, assistant health workers, and supporting workers involved in offering health service facilities.
“We can use the same or different vaccine platform for the booster program according to the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization’s (ITAGI’s) recommendation. Hence, we have decided to use Moderna's mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines since they have the highest efficacy than the other vaccines that we currently have," she remarked.
The vaccines will be administered through intramuscular injection with one dose of 0.5 ml, she revealed.
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However, the vaccination will still be given on the basis of the recipients’ health condition. If recipients are allergic to the vaccine with the mRNA platform, then they will be administered the same type of vaccine given for the first and second doses, according to the spokesperson.
The booster vaccination program commenced on July 23, 2021, at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta. She is optimistic that the program would be completed as soon as possible for 1.5 million health workers in Indonesia.
Hence, she urged the head of the regional Health Office, hospital, community health center, and other health facilities to immediately rectify any errors found in the vaccine recipients’ data by sending an email at sdmkesehatan@pedulilindungi.id to the Ministry of Health. Related news: IDI urges civil society to support healthcare workers
