Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Moderna Covid-19 booster shots are exclusively for health workers, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

"We will give Moderna as the third booster shot for all our health workers. We have distributed the vaccines to all provinces and I call for [these boosters] to be given immediately," Budi told an online conference on Monday.

"I am aware that many people want a booster shot, but please, give those shots to the health workers who are putting their lives at stake," he added.

According to Budi, the US government is providing an assistance of 4 million Moderna doses for Indonesia.

"We are dedicating the first 1.5 million doses for the health workers, as a single shot of the third booster," Budi said.

He also revealed about 140 million people have yet received their first dose. Only 68-70 million people have gotten their Covid-19 jabs.

At the conference, Budi addressed why the vaccination rate was higher in some areas. The government is prioritizing regions with soaring Covid-19 cases and Covid-related deaths. And as of July, Indonesia has only secured 22 percent of the needed vaccine supply, Budi said.

The minister is optimistic that Indonesia can reach the goal of administering two million doses a day in August.

Last week, the government distributed about 13 million vaccine doses across the archipelago. Budi is also expecting an arrival of 70 million doses this month.

"We estimate the vaccine supply in the regions can reach 80 million [doses] in August. If we multiply 2 million doses per day by 31 days, I expect there will be a surplus. So if God wills, we can vaccinate 2 million [people] a day this month," he said.

From August to December, Indonesia will welcome a shipment of more than 300 million vaccine doses. "This is the time to work hard [to boost] our vaccination drive," Budi said.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/moderna-booster-shots-only-for-health-workers-ministe