Malang, East Java (ANTARA) - The government of Malang city, East Java, in collaboration with the Fleet Command (Koarmada) II, on Saturday launched a two-day mass vaccination program targeting 30 thousand residents to contain COVID-19 spread.
Vaccinations will be carried out from August 7 to August 8, 2021 at the Gajayana Stadium, Malang City under the program, Commander of the Fleet Command II, Admiral Iwan Isnurwanto, informed here on Saturday.
"The planned target is to enrol 20 thousand vaccine recipients through online registration. However, we are also preparing 10 thousand vaccines for those who do not get to register online. So, it is hoped that 30 thousand people will be vaccinated during the two days of vaccination," he stated.
He said he hoped that through the vaccination program, the East Java provincial government's target to inoculate 70 percent of the population to create herd immunity would be achieved in August this year.
"Achieving community immunity for the people of East Java, especially Malang residents, is very important to protect the people from COVID-19 transmission," Isnurwanto remarked.
He urged all people participating in the vaccination program to continue to obey the health protocols to minimize the risk of contracting the deadly infection.
Meanwhile, Malang Mayor Sutiaji said that his administration is hoping to minimize crowding during the vaccination program through online registrations and regulating the flow of participants.
"In the future, if I am assigned to do this (vaccination) again, we will develop a better system. Hopefully, later we can perfect it as best we can," he added.
To boost citizens' immune response against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, with President Joko Widodo becoming the nation's first vaccine recipient.
According to a Health Ministry report, 49,964,745 people in Indonesia have received the first vaccine dose as of August 7, 2021, while 23,528,130 people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (*)
