Indonesia among top 10 countries with highest vaccination rates

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is listed among the top 10 countries for having the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world, according to government's spokesperson and Ambassador for the Adaptation of New Habits, Reisa Broto Asmoro.

Indonesia had achieved the target of administering the first dose to 40 percent of the population and second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 22.73-percent of the populace out of the targeted 208,265,720 vaccinations in Indonesia, Asmoro noted in an online press statement at the Presidential Office on Friday.

"Praise be to God, Indonesia has exceeded the 10-percent target and has also reached the benchmark, or 40-percent target of injecting the first dose this week," she added.

Asmoro believes that the achievement is a result of the government's continued efforts to provide and distribute vaccine stocks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set a vaccination target of 10 percent of the population in each country by September 2021, 40 percent of the population in each country by the end of 2021, and 70 percent of the world's population by mid-2022.

Asmoro revealed that overall, 43.9 percent of the world's population had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. A total of 6.03 billion doses have been administered globally, and 28.15 million vaccines were given to the world's population each day.

She explained that as of September 24, 2021, Indonesia had received more than 273.6 million vaccine doses via direct purchases, global cooperation through the Covax facility, and grants from friendly countries.

"From January to September 2021, the government has distributed more than 179.8 million doses throughout Indonesia," Asmoro remarked.

She emphasized that efforts to control COVID-19, especially vaccinations, are not only about numbers but also the hard work of several parties.

"Until Friday 10 a.m. local time, we had received more than two hundred million doses through hard work and mutual cooperation of several stakeholders involved," she stated.

Asmoro also invited the public to immediately get the vaccine without being choosy about the brand as a way to commend the hard work of all parties involved in the efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The best vaccine is the one that is currently available. There is no need to wait to be selective," she added.