Surabaya, E Java (ANTARA) - Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi has said his administration will conduct vaccination campaigns in several areas of the city to expedite herd immunity.
"We aim to speed up vaccination to reach herd immunity by collaborating with stakeholders to carry out mass vaccination campaigns," Cahyadi stated here on Wednesday.
The Surabaya government has spoken to the Commander of the Brawijaya Regional Military Command V and the East Java regional Police chief on building herd immunity in Surabaya and Malang, he said.
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"We are collaborating with related stakeholders as well," he added.
According to Deputy Mayor of Surabaya, Armuji, second doses of the Sinovac vaccine will be provided this month in Surabaya -- which had run out of stocks earlier -- upon confirmation from the Ministry of Health.
"We ask for the acceleration of vaccine distribution for Surabaya residents who are waiting for the second dose of injection," the deputy mayor stated.
Based on the latest data, around 705 thousand Surabaya residents are currently waiting to get the second dose of the Sinovac vaccine. Hence, Armuji urged all stakeholders to accelerate vaccine distribution for Surabaya.
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Surabaya is targeting to vaccinate 2 million people in the city. Based on data from the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Ministry of Health, Surabaya is one the 57 districts and cities that are targeted to achieve 70 percent vaccinations by August 2021.
The Ministry of Health must ensure that the time span between the doses is catered for to ensure effective formation of antibodies in recipients, he added.
Forty-eight million people in Indonesia have received the first vaccine dose, and 21 million people have been fully vaccinated as of August 3, 2021. The government is targeting to inoculate at least 208 million Indonesians to achieve herd immunity against the coronavirus.
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