Indonesia plans fifth COVID-19 vaccine dose to high-risk groups
Saturday, 16/12/2023 09:15 (GMT+7)
The Indonesian Ministry of Health is planning to administer the fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine for the elderly and those with underlying diseases, given the uptick in the new cases in the country.
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| Illustrative image (Photo: AFP) |
As of December 14, the Southeast Asian country recorded 1,499 cases positive to COVID-19 nationwide. Among them, there were 359 new cases reported the same day, and five fatalities recorded in previous week.
EG.5, a sub-variant of Omicron, is believed to be the primary cause of the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia and other countries in the region. EG.5 has a lower fatality rate compared to other sub-variants.
The ministry’s spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the ministry is in negotiations to provide the fifth COVID-19 vaccine dose, or a third booster next year, especially for those at high risk of virus exposure.
Also as of December 14, about 203 million people in Indonesia, or 86% of the target population, received the first vaccine dose. As many as 175 million people obtained the second booster dose, while 69 million others got the first booster shot./.
CPV (Source: VNA)