Data problems have beset the nationwide vaccination program in a number of regions, hampering registration and casting a shadow over the country\'s ambitious plan to vaccinate some 181 million citizens.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·6 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Around 50,000 health workers in several regions have received their Covid-19 vaccine jab since the country started rolling out its nationwide vaccination program last week. Health workers who are eligible for the program but have had difficulty in registering are encouraged to self-register through the online messaging app, WhatsApp.
The Health Ministry\'s infectious diseases prevention director and Covid-19 vaccine spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said on Wednesday (20/1/2021) in Jakarta that around 50,000 health workers had been administered the vaccinate. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of other health workers have registered for the program and are currently waiting for their turn.
The Health Ministry sent a text message (SMS) blast to 500,000 eligible health workers in 91 districts and municipalities, encouraging them to self-register on certain platforms. However, according to reports from a number of regions, many health workers encountered difficulties in their attempt to register online after they received the Health Ministry’s text message, so the registration was conducted manually.
In Palembang, South Sumatra, for example, the vaccination schedule for many health workers were delayed, as their names had not been registered in the system. According to Yudhi Setiawan, the Palembang Health Agency’s infectious diseases prevention director, only 618 health workers in the city had received their vaccine dose, falling short of the 2,040 target recipients.
The causes of the sluggish progress of the inoculation program include the complex registration process, with many health workers not receiving the Health Ministry’s SMS blast and being unable to register through Peduli Lindungi (pedulilindungi.id), the official vaccination registration website. Several puskesmas (community health centers) in Palembang have also encountered difficulties in administering the program.
The head of Palembang’s Puskesmas Merdeka, Desti Aryani, said that many health workers’ vaccination schedules were delayed due to the difficulties.
“On the first day of the vaccination [program] on Thursday (14/1), only four health workers were given the vaccine. Meanwhile, we were able to administer the vaccine to 25 people per day,” she said.
Desti also had to make repeated attempts to register a health worker before they were successfully inputted in the system. The technical problem persisted to Tuesday (19/1). During the first six days of the vaccination program, only 39 out of the quota for 150 health workers had received their shots.
Palembang Heath Agency head Fauzia said the agency had immediately tackled the issue by inputting the recipient’s identity card number (NIK) in the Medical Human Resources information system (SDMK) of the primary care vaccination system.
“If the individual’s name is registered in the system, they can receive the vaccine,” said Fauzia.
In Manado, North Sulawesi, more than 900 health workers had been given the Covid-19 vaccine. However, the online registration site also posed problems and hindered registration. Those health workers who had not received the ministry’s text message were eventually registered manually.
If the individual’s name is registered in the system, they can receive the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 vaccination drive in Ambon has entered its fourth day. Ambon Health Agency head Wendy Pelupessy said that 300 heath workers had received their jab. Registration, which initially required confirmation from Peduli Lindungi, could now be conducted manually.
As a result, all 22 puskesmas in Ambon were able to proceed with administering the vaccine to its health workers without having to wait for notification from the online platform. Manually registering the workers was deemed to be more time-efficient.
“We were able to vaccinate more than 100 people,” said Wendy.
As regards the data problems, Covid-19 vaccine spokesperson Nadia said that state-owned telecommunications giant PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom) and the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) were currently working to improve the registration system.
“Meanwhile, the vaccine program will be carried out at each fasyankes [healthcare facility] in coordination with the [local] health agency,” she added.
Health Ministry spokesperson Widyawati explained that health workers who were as yet unregistered or had yet to receive the ministry’s SMS blast could register through the WhatsApp chatbot facility. Once their registration had been verified, they could make an appointment at the nearest healthcare facility and confirm their vaccination schedule.
Apart from registering via WhatsApp, the Health Ministry also provides additional registration channels for the vaccination program: by sending a text message to PEDULICOVID, the Peduli Lindungi website, by emailing vaksin@pedulilindungi.id, and by phone through *119# and the Covid-19 vaccination program hotline, 119 extension 9.
The country is prioritizing the vaccination of around 1.3 million health workers and 17.4 million public workers in the first stage of the vaccination program from January to April. For the second stage from April 2021 to March 2022, the vaccine will be administered to all citizens who fulfill certain conditions.
The chairman of the National Commission for Post-Immunization Adverse Events (Komnas KIPI), Hindra Irawan Satari, said that several adverse reactions at the injection site could occur after getting the vaccine, such as swelling, pain, drainage, lymphadenitis (enlargement of the lymph node) or inflammation, as well as cellulitis, a type of bacterial skin infection.
“[Ensuring] vaccine safety is a global commitment. Post-immunization reactions can occur with all vaccines and must be reported. If it requires treatment, the state will bear all costs because this is a national immunization program,” Hindra said.
Increasing transmission
Covid-19 infections have continued to spread farther afield in Indonesia, making it more difficult to control and break the chain of transmission. It is feared that the recent natural disasters that have occurred in several regions of the country will trigger a spike in new infections.
The National Covid-19 Task Force announced 12,568 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (20/1), bringing the nationwide total to 939,948 confirmed cases. The virus has spread to 510 regencies and municipalities across the country, with only 14 regencies and municipalities reporting zero Covid-19 cases.
Covid-19 transmission clusters in Indonesia are now difficult to trace. It is like a large wildfire that is very difficult to control.
In addition to the daily increase in new cases, the daily Covid-19 death toll has also been increasing. The toll stood at 3,076 deaths in November 2020, which had increased to 5,193 deaths by December.
On entering the second decade of the millennium, Covid-19 deaths in January 2021 currently stands at 4,791. With the daily increase in deaths averaging more than 250 people, the nationwide toll reached a record high this month.
“Covid-19 transmission clusters in Indonesia are now difficult to trace. It is like a large wildfire that is very difficult to control,” said epidemiologist Dicky Budiman at Australia’s Griffith University.