Day: January 4, 2022

A clinical trial of COVID-19 booster vaccinations has recorded no indications of severe adverse events following immunization (AEFI) on research subjects, COVID-19 Handling Task Force has informed.

At an online press conference here on Tuesday, the task force’s national spokesperson, Wiku Adisasmito, said that the research has recommended a six-month gap between the second and third dose.

“The plan is to have the third dose booster vaccination program conducted from January 12, in accordance with WHO’s target in the first trimester of 2022,” he added.

Booster vaccinations have been prepared ever since the official recommendation was issued by the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) and the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM), he said.

The recommendation also covers the types of vaccines that will be used, he informed.

The third dose will be given first to people aged 18 years and above who live in districts or cities that have reached 70-percent coverage for the first dose, he said.

In addition, the districts or cities should have also reached 60 percent coverage for the second dose, he informed.

Separately, Health Ministry spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said that booster vaccinations will start from January 12, 2022, and will include both free and paid vaccinations.

Free booster vaccines, which will be provided under government subsidies, will be given to fund assistance recipients (PBI), especially the elderly, she informed.

“The government’s target is to vaccinate the elderly as a group that is vulnerable to being hospitalized and also experiencing severe symptoms, even death when exposed (to the virus)” she explained.

Those who are not eligible for free booster vaccines will be able to get booster doses at health facilities by paying around Rp300 thousand, she added.

Source: Antara News

The number of Indonesians who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has reached 114.5 million, according to data released by the COVID-19 Task Force on Tuesday.

The number of residents who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday stood at 114,565,936, an increase of 369,597 from the previous day, it said.

Recipients of both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine account for around 55 percent of the targeted population of 208,265,720, it added.

Meanwhile, the number of residents who have received the first dose increased by 549,536 to 166,653,867, or about 80 percent of the target.

Meanwhile, the third or booster dose covered 1,295,326 health workers.

According to data published on the official website of the Ministry of Health on January 4, 2022, to date, 1,968,029 health workers have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, exceeding the target of 1,468,764.

Among elderly citizens, 9,131,293 out of the 21,553,118 targeted recipients have received two doses of the vaccine.

The number of officers in the public service sector who have received the COVID-19 vaccine twice has been recorded at 21,161,545 out of a total target of 17,327,167.

The vaccination target for the vulnerable and general groups was 141,211,181 and 63,869,955 of them have received both vaccine doses.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 17,203,191out of the 26,705,490 targeted recipients have received both vaccine doses.

Until now, the government is carrying out COVID-19 vaccinations for residents, including children aged 6 to 11 years.

Starting January 12, 2022, the government plans to administer the third or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The booster vaccination will be provided free of charge to some residents, including the recipients of contribution assistance (PBI) and the elderly.

Source: Antara News

The Indonesian government decided to extend the policy on public mobility restrictions, locally known as PPKM, outside the islands of Java and Bali, from today to Jan 17, 2022, although COVID-19 cases continue to decline, a senior minister said yesterday.

The number of districts/cities with PPKM level 1, currently increased from 191 to 227, those with level 2 dropped from 169 to 148, and those with level 3 decreased from 26 to 11, and no districts/cities were on status 4, coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, told a virtual press conference yesterday.

PPKM level 1 means the vaccination of the first dose reaches at least 70 percent and that for the elderly aged over 60 years is at least 60 percent,

PPKM level 2 means that the number of positive cases of COVID-19 is between 20 and 50 persons per 100,000 people per week, level 3 is when the number of positive cases ranges between 50 and 150 persons per 100,000 people per week, and level 4 is when the number of positive cases is more than 150 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

PALU, INDONESIA — Indonesian security forces killed a suspected militant accused of beheadings in a shootout Tuesday in a sweeping counterterrorism campaign against extremists in remote mountain jungles, police said.

Provincial police chief Rudy Sufahriadi said Ahmad Gazali, 27, also known as Ahmad Panjang, a key member of the East Indonesia Mujahideen network, was fatally shot by a joint team of military and police officers near Uempasa hamlet in Central Sulawesi province’s mountainous Parigi Moutong district. It borders Poso district, an extremist hotbed in the province.

The East Indonesia Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the killings of police officers and minority Christians, some by beheading. It has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Police have said Gazali conducted several of the group’s executions, including the beheadings of four Christian farmers last May.

The joint team was patrolling the area when it came upon two militants in a camp, Sufahriadi said at a news conference. He said the second militant escaped into the jungle.

Tuesday’s shootout occurred four months after security forces killed two militants in another jungle shootout, including Ali Kalora, the group’s leader, who was one of the country’s most wanted militants.

“We are still searching for three remaining suspected members of the group,” Sufahriadi said, “We urge them to immediately surrender or we’ll continue hunting them down.”

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, has conducted a crackdown on militants since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly Western and Asian tourists.

Militant attacks on foreigners in Indonesia have been largely replaced in recent years by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, mainly police and anti-terrorism forces, and people militants consider to be infidels, inspired by Islamic State group tactics abroad.

Source: Voice of America