Jakarta – The Health Ministry called members of the public to immediately take the booster shot following the discovery of the new XBB strain of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in the country.
Spokesperson for the ministry M. Syahril said that the booster shot would be key in reducing the severity of infection from the new strain. "For those who haven't taken the third shot, please take it," he said in a statement released on Sunday.
In the statement, the ministry also confirmed the first local transmission of XBB subvariant affecting a 29-year-old woman living in Surabaya, East Java.
The ministry said that the woman had a traveling history to Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara and that she showed symptoms of fever, runny nose and cough.
Syahril said that although the new subvariant was more transmissible, it would likely not be more severe than the original Omicron variant.
Local health agencies have reported that they are beginning to run out of COVID-19 vaccines, attributing the scarcity to a lack of shipments from the Health Ministry, and without doses, numerous vaccination spots have closed up shop.
Last week, the World Health Organization said it is too early to lift the highest-level alert for the COVID-19 crisis, with the pandemic remaining a global health emergency despite recent progress.
The WHO's emergency committee on COVID-19 met last week and concluded that the pandemic still constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), a status it declared back in January 2020.