Bali surpasses first dose vaccination target of 70-percent residents, Koster

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Bali Governor Wayan Koster claimed that the province had exceeded its target of administering the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 70 percent of the residents.

"Bali's population reaches around 4.3 million. According to the target of vaccinating 70 percent of the population at least with the first dose, we have surpassed the target since 3,046,868 people have received the first dose of the vaccine injection now," the governor stated in a video statement received, Friday.

Koster made the statement while reporting to Vice President Ma'ruf Amin during a coordination meeting on the handling of COVID-19 with the Bali's COVID-19 Handling Task Force held via video conference, Thursday (July 29).

Koster noted that the target for the first dose of COVID-19 vaccination could be achieved since children in the 12-17 years age group as well as foreigners living temporarily or permanently in Bali were inoculated.

For the second dose of injection, Wayan confirmed that only 807,838 people in Bali, or almost 27 percent of the target, had been fully vaccinated. To this end, the Bali provincial government will expedite the implementation of the second dose of vaccination, he affirmed.

Vice President Amin commended the Bali provincial government’s efforts in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in the province, including the implementation of vaccinations.

The vice president requested the Bali provincial government to continue to improve the handling of COVID-19 in the area by increasing testing, tightening the application of health protocols, and ensuring that the distribution of social assistance to the residents ran optimally.

The Indonesian government has commenced its nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, to boost immunity and break the chain of COVID-19 transmission.