Jakarta: from tomorrow booster dose for the elderly and vulnerable

The booster will be administered to people over 60 and those at risk. It will be free of charge. The region around the capital is the most affected by the Omicron variant.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The administration of the third dose to the most vulnerable and to people over 60 years old in Indonesia will begin tomorrow. This was declared today by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo: "This program is aimed at all Indonesian people and is free of charge," said the head of state. In recent days there have been discussions about whether the booster dose could be paid for. 

According to Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, already 20 million elderly people or those considered at risk (such as health workers) will be able to receive the third dose from January 12. 

The head of Indonesia's National Food and Beverage Agency, Peni Lukito, last week confirmed the availability of 230 million doses produced by 5 different companies (PT Bio Farma, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Zifivax).

According to a report by the Ministry of Health, the Greater Jakarta region is the most affected by the Omicron variant: only on January 8, 75 cases of the new coronavirus were detected out of a total of 414 infected. Of these, about 50 have contracted the virus during domestic travel and the rest were imported from abroad, especially from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The first case of Omicron variant in Indonesia was recorded on December 16. According to a report from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, at least 15 of the airport's medical staff have been infected with the new infectious strain.

• indonesia
• jakarta
• omicron variant
• covid-19
• pandemic
• health crisis
• vaccine
• third dose
• booster
• seniors