Over 5,54 milion Indonesia get booster shots

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The number of Indonesians receiving COVID-19 booster vaccinations increased by 11,859 to touch 5,548,431 as of 12 p.m. local time on Monday, the task force for COVID-19 handling said.

Based on official data received in Jakarta, the number of second dose recipients increased by 38,694 to reach 131,119,425 on Monday.

Meanwhile, the total number of first dose recipients was recorded at 186,703,390. Overall, the government is targeting to vaccinate 208,265,720 people.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, revealed that 69 percent of the 356 people who died of COVID-19 since January this year had not received the full vaccination or had not been vaccinated at all.

He cited the data while making an online press statement after a limited meeting on the evaluation of public activity restrictions (PPKM) with President Joko Widodo, which was accessed from Jakarta on Monday.

"Those who have died are 356 people due to COVID-19 since January 21 (2022). Around 69 percent of the victims had not been fully vaccinated or had not been vaccinated at all," he said.

"Then, of the 58 people who are currently being treated with severe, critical conditions and are on a ventilator, 60 percent have not been fully vaccinated or have not been vaccinated at all, the minister added.

He then appealed to the public to get the complete dose of COVID-19 vaccinations without delay.

"Especially for the elderly, they must be vaccinated immediately. Those who have not received the second dose of the vaccine, they should get it. Because this is important to protect them," the minister said.

The National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) earlier issued emergency-use authorization (EUA) for Sinopharm, making it the sixth vaccine brand to be approved for booster vaccinations in Indonesia.

"The BPOM has evaluated the efficacy and safety of the Sinopharm vaccine as a homologous booster dose (against COVID-19) for adults aged 18 years and older," BPOM head Penny K. Lukito informed last week.

The Sinopharm vaccine, or the "SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated," is produced by Beijing Bio-Institute Biological, China, and has been administered by the state pharmaceutical firm PT Kimia Farma as a homologous booster dose for adults aged 18 years and above at least six months after the completion of the primary doses, she informed.

Sinopharm booster shot can be well tolerated by recipients, she said. The frequency, type, and severity of unexpected side effects after injection are lower than after the primary dose, she added.

Some common unexpected side effects include pain at the injection site, swelling and irritation, headache, fatigue, and muscle pain, with severity grades ranging from 1 to 2, she revealed.