The government is currently preparing vaccinations for 9 million public service officers and the elderly population. Vaccination for them will run from the third week of February to May 2021.
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KOMPAS TEAM
·4 minutes read
KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI
Nursyirwan (75), a doctor at Pusri Palembang Hospital, received a Covid-19 vaccine injection, Monday (15/2/2021). Vaccination for the elderly is very important because they are the most threatened if they are infected.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- The target recipients of Covid-19 vaccination in Indonesia continue to be expanded. The government is currently preparing vaccinations for 9 million public service officers and the elderly population. Vaccination for them will run from the third week of February to May 2021.
It is part of the vaccination target of 16.9 million public service workers and 21.5 million elderly people. Due to limited availability, vaccines are given according to recipient priorities, such as age and profession.
The number of target recipients is expanded after vaccination has reportedly covered 1 million health workers out of the target of 1.46 million people. This does not mean that vaccination is unhindered. In Papua, for example, there are 10 regencies that have not yet conducted Covid-19 vaccination.
"To accelerate and at the same time expand the scope of the vaccination program in a bid to achieve herd immunity, the government will initiate this second phase of vaccination by targeting public service officers and people aged 60 years old and above starting in the third week of February and are expected to finish in May," said acting director general for disease prevention and control at the Health Ministry, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, in Jakarta, on Monday (15/2/2021).
Vaccination will start on 17 February for market traders at Tanah Abang Market, Jakarta. Public service officers need to be vaccinated because they have a high level of interaction and mobility so they are susceptible to Covid-19 infection. Meanwhile, the elderly group is very susceptible to experiencing worsening conditions and eventually death if they contract the disease.
The availability of Covid-19 vaccines at the end of February is around 7.5 million doses. By March, the number will increase by 11 million doses.
"Out of the 9 million population, 70 percent or about 6.3 million vaccines [two doses] have been mapped out, which will be distributed to Java and Bali. This was done because about 70 percent of positive cases being reported were in seven provinces in Java and Bali," said Maxi.
Maxi added that first priority would be given to the elderly population with a proportion of 20-30 percent of the elderly population in each province. With that proportion, there are 2.1 million elderly people in Java and Bali regions. Then, the proportion for Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police members is 20-30 percent and the proportion for public officers is also 20-30 percent.
Virus mutation
We have learned from these new virus types, especially the one from South Africa.
While attending an online discussion on Monday, Research and Technology Minister Bambang PS Brodjonegoro said vaccine coverage should be accelerated to anticipate mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Apart from being more contagious and deadly, the new variants of the virus that have been discovered in a number of countries affect vaccine efficacy.
"We have learned from these new virus types, especially the one from South Africa, which has been tested with several vaccines, that they change the effectiveness of the vaccine," said Bambang.
HUMAS PEMPROV SUMUT
Covid-19 vaccination for health workers at the Hall of the University of North Sumatra, Medan, Wednesday (10/2/2021). The program is expected to accelerate vaccination.
He said there were three variants resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 mutation that were currently of global concern. The first variant, B.1.1.7 from Britain, is 50 percent more infectious and 70 percent more lethal. "However, the existing vaccines are still effective for this virus variant," he said.
Another variant that is also of concern is the result of a mutation in Brazil, namely B 1.1.28.1, which is known to cause reinfections. Next comes variant B 1.351 from South Africa, which makes some vaccines even less effective.
A number of studies, according to Bambang, have been conducted regarding the efficacy of the vaccine against variant B 1.351. For example, the Pfizer vaccine still works, but is becoming less effective. The Moderna vaccine is also still effective even though the immune response is not as powerful as before.
The Novavax vaccine tested against this variant showed a low efficacy of 60 percent for preventing symptoms. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was only 57 percent effective for the South African variant compared to 72 percent of its efficacy when tested in the United States. So far, there are no data regarding the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine against the new variant from South Africa.
Bambang emphasized that the emergence of new variants could have serious implications, especially for public health. "We will need more hospitals, health workers, laboratories and vaccine improvements. In fact, we have limitations. Therefore, we need to accelerate vaccine coverage and surveillance," he said. (TAN/FLO/AIK/DIV)
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