Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has urged local governments in South Kalimantan to accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations for the community, saying the vaccine coverage in the province was still low.
"Earlier, I received a report from the Governor of South Kalimantan that in the province, districts, and cities in South Kalimantan Province (COVID-19 vaccinations have) only reached 33 percent," he said during a dialogue with regional representatives in South Kalimantan, held via video conferencing from Moch. Ansari Saleh Hospital, Banjarmasin City, on Thursday.
Accelerating vaccines in all provinces, he explained, is important to encourage the achievement of the national target of inoculating 70 percent of the total population by the end of 2021.
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Based on data from the Ministry of Health, vaccination coverage has reached just 34.37 percent for the first dose and 20.53 percent for the second dose in South Kalimantan as of October 21, 2021.
In addition to the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Banjarmasin, 12 other districts/cities in South Kalimantan also carried out vaccinations on Thursday.
During a dialogue with the President, one of the representatives from Tanah Laut district said that the achievement of vaccinations in the district was also still low.
"Our total vaccination achievement is still quite low, around 23.08 percent as of yesterday afternoon," the representative said.
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Representatives from Tapin district also revealed the low vaccination rate in the district.
According to the representatives, currently, vaccination coverage in Tapin district has only reached 25.8 percent. However, a number of district/city governments in South Kalimantan said they are optimistic that they can achieve the vaccination target by the end of this year.
"God willing, in November, it will be 70 percent, Mr. President," said a representative from Banjarbaru city.
President Widodo also asked local government officials to cooperate with the police and the military to speed up COVID-19 vaccination.
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"I have conveyed to the head of the Provincial Health Office. If the stock of vaccines runs out, the local government can convey it to the central government. We will send the vaccines according to the needs detailed by the South Kalimantan province," the President said.
At the vaccination event, the President was accompanied by State Secretary Pratikno, State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, and South Kalimantan Governor Sahbirin Noor.
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