Regional Administrations Await Technical Instructions from Central Govt

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

West Sumatra Health Service officials document the Covid-19 vaccine packaging at the West Sumatra Health Office warehouse, Padang, West Sumatra, Tuesday (5/1/2021) morning.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – PT Bio Farma has distributed 714.240 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac to several provinces. However, provincial administrations are still waiting for technical instructions from the central government as well as emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

Vaccine distribution will be carried out gradually. On Monday (4/1/2021), as many as 313,000 doses of vaccine were distributed to 18 provinces. Meanwhile, on Sunday (3/1), 401,240 doses were distributed to 14 provinces.

“While the vaccine has been distributed, mass vaccination still awaits the emergency use authorization from the BPOM,” said Bio Farma head of corporate communications Iwan Setiawan yesterday in Bandung, West Java.

Similarly, the Health Ministry’s spokesperson on Covid-19 affairs, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, had previously asserted that while the distributed vaccine was ready for use, emergency use authorization from the BPOM would still be required before mass vaccination could be conducted (Kompas, 4/1).

While the vaccine has been distributed, mass vaccination still awaits the emergency use authorization from the BPOM.

According to Iwan, the first batch of vaccine distributed came from the 1.2 million doses of vaccine that arrived in Indonesia on Dec. 7, 2020. Meanwhile, 1.8 million doses of vaccine that came later on Dec. 31 are still stored in a warehouse of Bio Farma.

From South Sumatra, it is reported that 30,000 doses of vaccine sent by Bio Farma arrived in Palembang on Monday. South Sumatera Health Agency head Lesty Nurainy said the number of doses received by the region was smaller than the number originally proposed, namely 58,000 doses of vaccine, due to the region’s limited capacity to store the vaccine.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A total of 30,000 doses of vaccine arrived in Palembang, South Sumatra, Monday (4/1/2021). This vaccine will be distributed directly to 7 districts / cities.

As many as 62,560 doses of Sinovac vaccine have arrived as well in Central Java Health Agency’s warehouse in Semarang. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said the Central Java administration was still preparing a distribution system that could reach prioritized groups in remote areas. “We must be careful in managing [the vaccine]. They must not be broken. According to the plan, mass vaccination [will begin] on Jan. 14,” said Ganjar.

However, municipal/regency administrations in a number of northern coastal regions in the western part of Central Java claimed that they had yet to receive any further information regarding the flow of vaccine distribution.

Pekalongan Health Agency head Slamet Budiyanto said he was still uncertain whether the vaccine would be sent directly or must be picked up from Central Java Health Agency’s warehouse. “According to the initial instruction, municipal/regency administrations’ health agencies must individually pick up [the vaccine]. Regardless, we are still waiting for the exact instruction,” said Slamet in Pekalongan.

The uncertainties surrounding vaccine distribution has been lamented as well by Tegal Regency Health Agency. Until Monday evening, the agency was still waiting for further instructions from the Central Java administration.

Meanwhile, as many as 20,400 doses of Covid-19 vaccine are scheduled to arrive in Southeast Sulawesi this morning. Southeast Sulawesi Health Agency acting head Usnia said the agency still awaited as well the technical instructions from the central government regarding the timing and pattern of vaccine distribution. The technical instructions are needed so that all parties would acquire a uniformed understanding.

Similarly, Banten administration has also yet to carry out the first stage of mass vaccination despite the fact that the vaccine arrived in Serang yesterday. For the next week, Banten Health Agency will finalize training for vaccinators. It is predicted that mass vaccination will be carried out on Jan. 14.

Kompas

A box of AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine vials are pictured at the Pontcae Medical Practice in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales on January 4, 2021. - Britain on Monday began rolling out the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, a possible game-changer in fighting the disease worldwide.

Banten Health Agency head Ati Pramudji Hastuti explained that the agency had received 14,560 doses of Sinovac vaccine. It is expected that 83,480 doses of vaccine will be sent to Banten at the first stage.

Several other regions, such as Lampung, South Kalimantan, Jambi and East Java, have also received the Sinovac vaccine. Meanwhile, some other regions, including Yogyakarta, West Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan, are predicted to receive the vaccine today.

Central Kalimantan Covid-19 Task Force head Darliansyah hopes the arrival of the vaccine could bring about changes and break the chain of Covid-19 infections. At the same time, the task force will still continue monitoring and patrolling the implementation of health protocols in the region. “If [we are] not [disciplined], hospitals would be endlessly brimmed with Covid-19 patients. Not only the general public, all layers of the society, including the state officials and higher-ups, could fall victim to the virus as well,” said Darliansyah.

Firmer action

Epidemiologist Windhu Purnomo from Airlangga University again recommended the government’s Covid-19 Task Force to take more stringent actions in limiting public activities following a spike of Covid-19 confirmed cases in several regions.

“Without any firm action, we would not be able to get the pandemic under control,” said Windhu.

Meanwhile, the Youth and Sports Ministry has proposed that Indonesian athletes scheduled to compete in international championships be prioritized and get vaccinated during the first stage of Covid-19 mass vaccination in January.

“We have lodged the proposal so that the best athletes are prioritized to get the Covid-19 vaccine,” said Bayu Rahadian, the Youth and Sports Ministry’s Coordinator of Data Collection for Covid-19 vaccination for athletes. (TAM/RAM/DIT/IGA/VIO/JUM/JAL/ETA/BRO/NIK/CIP/WER/VAN/ESA/GIO/DNE/DKA/IDO/XTI/NSA/HRS/ITA/DRI)

This article was translated by Astria Zahra Nabila.