Jakarta. Yogyakarta has administered the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to more than 55 percent of its targeted recipients, helping the province to avoid spiking fatalities in the province, according to the Yogyakarta Health Agency.

The agency's health resources chief Trisno Agung Wibowo reported 369,625 people in Yogyakarta had received their first dose. This is 55.7 percent out of the targeted 663,902 people in Yogyakarta.

Out of that target, 33,799 are medical workers, 334,754 public service workers, and 295,349 others are senior citizens. As many as 33.6 percent of the targeted beneficiaries have gotten the second shot.

"The national target, including Yogyakarta, is to vaccinate 70 percent of the population in a year. Hopefully, [in less than a year], 70 percent have received the shot to create natural immunity among the people," Trisno said in a written statement over the weekend.

The province is home to 39,644 confirmed cases and 965 deaths. More than  87.6 percent of the Covid-19 patients in Yogyakarta managed to recover, Trisno said. 

"The mortality rate can be suppressed down to 2.52 percent," he said in a written statement on Saturday.

The case fatality rate (CFR) in Yogyakarta exceeded 3 percent in September before declining to as low as 1.9 percent in December, data from the Health Ministry showed. 

According to Trisno, health protocol compliance and a strong immune system can keep the virus at bay. "We must wear masks, keep our distance, avoid crowding, and boost immunity," he said.

Having a healthy diet and avoiding stress can strengthen the immune system. Another immunity boost is by getting the vaccine, Trisno said. 

Fight the Hoaxes

Trisno urged the public not to be hesitant in getting the Covid-19 jab. Out of the millions of vaccine recipients so far, none have reported a serious post-immunization side effect. He also warned the public to watch out for hoaxes related to the Covid-19 vaccination.

 "[They are] saying that vaccination is not necessary as consuming lots of tapes [fermented rice] is enough. That is not true. Please refer to science," Trisno said.

The Communication and Information Technology Ministry recorded 1,556 hoaxes on Covid-19 and 177 hoaxes on Covid-19 vaccination. These hoaxes commonly spread with jargons saying "Please share," along with provocative contents and citing unreliable sources. 

Likewise, Yogyakarta’s Communication and Information Technology Agency chief Rony Primanto Hari warned of the Covid-19 infodemic on social media.

"For those looking for information on Covid-19, please refer to competent and official sources such as the government. We have to filter [the online content] before sharing it," Rony said.

Rony also spoke of India’s “Covid tsunami.” According to Rony, India's surge followed a sense of euphoria that Covid-19 had gone, which caused them to ignore health protocols by crowding, as well as the extremely high mobility.