Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – In recent days, ready-to-use Covid-19 vaccines have begun to be distributed to a number of regions in Indonesia. The distribution process is part of the preparation of the free vaccination plan which will be carried out in the near future after obtaining an emergency use permit from BPOM and fulfilling the halal aspect of the MUI.
President Joko Widodo, while giving directions at a limited meeting regarding the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and plans for vaccination at the State Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, asked local governments to prepare to carry out this vaccination program in their respective regions.
“I ask for our readiness towards vaccination to really be checked and controlled by the governors,” he said.
The Head of State said that until now, Indonesia had ordered approximately 329.5 million doses of vaccine which did not include the commitment to add orders. To ensure the resilience or guarantee of the availability of vaccines, the government will bring in hundreds of millions of doses of the vaccine from at least five sources.
“From Sinovac it is 3 million plus 122.5 million. From Novavax 50 million, from COVAX / GAVI it was 54 million, from AstraZeneca 50 million, and from Pfizer 50 million vaccines. This means that the total number that has firm orders is 329.5 million vaccines. Only the arrangement will be carried out by the Minister of Health, “said the President.
To note, taking into account that one person needs two doses of vaccine and 15 percent as backup according to the provisions of the World Health Organization (WHO), the total vaccine needed for approximately 181 million people is around 426 million doses of vaccine. Related to this, the government has ensured that the required number of vaccine doses can be met through various options that have been taken.
Separately, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin in his statement with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and Head of BNPB Doni Monardo revealed, until last Sunday (3/1), as many as 1.2 million vaccines had begun to be distributed to 34 provinces throughout Indonesia. Furthermore, his party will wait for approval from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) to initiate vaccinations, which are prioritized for health workers in the early stages.
“Above, the President gave a challenge, can it be accelerated so that it can be completed in 12 months? We will try hard and we need support from friends to be able to do this, “he said.
In the first phase, the government will initiate vaccinations for approximately 1.6 million health workers throughout Indonesia. Next, the vaccine will be given to 17.4 million public service workers and 21.5 million elderly people. (imf/bbs).
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