With the coverage of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccination for elderly still falling short of the target, regional governments have been urged to step up the movement to protect citizens.

We underline the Health Ministry’s three focus programs for 2023 as a serious effort by the government to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. Vigilance should be maintained.

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet. Therefore, the handling of COVID-19 transmissions continues. The government will strengthen health services through the transformation of the national health system.

With the discovery of the more transmissible Omicron XBB subvariant, Covid-19 cases in Indonesia are also surging. Therefore, greater caution against the infection of this disease should be exercised.

The WHO has declared monkeypox as the seventh public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), which clearly shows that we need to be vigilant and take the appropriate steps, including vaccination.

Vaccination coverage is also unevenly distributed across regions. Bali, Jakarta and the Riau Islands have the highest booster-dose coverage at respectively 69 percent, 62 percent and 50 percent.

The COVID-19 cases are predicted to escalate in the second week of July. Vaccination is being pushed to strengthen community protection.

On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized that the pandemic was far from over. The pandemic will continue as long as cases are still found in many countries and there is still a vaccine gap.