Indonesia begins booster vaccinations amid omicron fears

Jakarta, Jan 12 (EFE).- Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, began Wednesday to administer Covid-19 booster vaccines amid concerns about the expansion of the omicron variant.

The campaign prioritizes free inoculation in the elderly and people with health problems, although it will also be offered to the rest of the population, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in a Tuesday video.

Indonesia, which since the beginning of the pandemic has registered 4.26 million cases and more than 144,000 deaths, surpassed its worst wave of infections and deaths between June and September 2021.

Authorities Tuesday confirmed 802 new infections, the highest number in the last three months, and eight deaths.

They said they are concerned about the advance of the omicron variant throughout the densely populated islands of the archipelago and said it could accelerate the rate of infections in the coming weeks until reaching their peak in February.

Only 54.5 percent of the target population have received the complete vaccine dose, while 77.2 percent have received at least one, according to official figures. EFE

ind-nc/lds