Indonesia Calls for Equal Access to Vaccines

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

People wait for their turns to get Covid-19 vaccine shots at the RSUD Kembangan hospital in West Jakarta, on Tuesday (23/2/2021). One hundred seventy-three elderly people had been registered to get their vaccine shots at that hospital on Tuesday (23/2/2021). The target for the second phase of the vaccination program is to inoculate more than 38 million people, which includes 17.4 million people working in public and essential services and 21.5 million elderly. (This caption was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has called for equal access to vaccines for all countries. The world would not be free of COIVD-19 as long as there were countries that had not been able to handle the pandemic.

BANDUNG, KOMPAS — The Indonesian government has once again called for the importance of equal access to the COVID-19 vaccines. Close cooperation between nations was necessary to overcome the pandemic, because the world would not be free of the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus if there was even one country that was not safe.

This message was conveyed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in an international conference titled “Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic from a Health, Economic, Diplomatic and Social Perspective,” which was held virtually on Tuesday (23/2/2021), hosted by the Padjajaran University Alumni Association in Bandung.

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“The world cannot be completely free of COVID-19 if there is one country that is not free of it. Therefore, the most important thing we can do to handle this pandemic is to cooperate, cooperate and cooperate,” said the President.

Demand for the vaccines has been high, as countries race to secure enough for the needs of their people.

The President also stressed the importance of equal access to vaccines for each country. The COVID-19 vaccines served as a ray of hope across the globe. Demand for the vaccines has been high, as countries race to secure enough for the needs of their people. “Never forget that we have to encourage equal access to vaccines,” he said.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

People wait for a medical check-up before being inoculated with Covid-19 vaccine at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Peneleh, Surabaya municipality, East Java, on Tuesday (23/2/2021). The clinic is to administer vaccines to 325 elderly people. In the second phase of the vaccination drive, the Surabaya city administration gradually received 12,480 vials of vaccine. (This caption was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko)

Since the beginning, Indonesia has tried several times to secure these vaccines. As a result, Indonesia had become one of the first Southeast Asian countries to conduct vaccinations. However, not all countries had been able to secure vaccines for themselves. Thus, equal access had to be promoted.

The COVID-19 pandemic had to be controlled through the strengthening of international cooperation between countries. “We have to plan accurately, in detail, what we should do together with other nations,” said the President.

Apart from securing vaccines for its people, the Indonesian government is also trying to assist other countries. Indonesia sits as one of the chairs of the multilateral cooperation in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, the COVAC Advanced Market Commitment Engagement Group (COVAC-AMC-EG).

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According to the President, 2021 is the time to rise from the pandemic. “[It is] the year to transform into a new force to be reckoned with. The world must strengthen its cooperation to solve our shared issues,” he said.

Ongoing vaccinations

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccination in Indonesia continues. Indonesia aims to inoculate 181.5 million to achieve herd immunity. The vaccination drive, which began in mid-January 2021, aims to be completed within a year.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Medical workers prepare an employee of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for the Covid-19 vaccine shot at the KPK building in Jakarta on Tuesday (23/2/2021). Aside from KPK employees and commissioners, detainees also received the vaccine. (This caption was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko)

However, according to the President, vaccinations will not immediately stop the pandemic. Therefore, residents have been urged to remain disciplined in enforcing health protocol. The government will also continue to test, trace and control transmissions by imposing restrictions on micro-scale community activities.

Health Ministry spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi emphasized that the vaccination drive still needed to be accompanied by strict health protocols. “There are guidelines for sticking to health protocols. There is also a schedule to regulate when to vaccinate certain targets and the number of vaccination targets,” she said.

Also read: Vaccination Target Data Incomplete

After health workers, the second phase of the national vaccination drive targets some 17 million people providing public or other essential services and 21 million elderly people. According to Reisa Brotoasmoro, spokesperson for the COVID-19 task force, teachers are a priority for the vaccination program. This is to create safe and comfortable conditions for face-to-face teaching activities once the situation allows.

All teachers, lecturers and education staff will undergo COVID-19 vaccination in stages starting Wednesday (24/2). Apart from being an effort to overcome the pandemic, the administration of vaccines is expected to educate people who had doubts about the vaccine.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A medical worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine to an elderly person at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, on Tuesday (23/2/2021). (This caption was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko)

In total, around 5 million teachers, lecturers and education staff under the Education and Culture Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry, will be vaccinated in this second phase. The initial injection will be given to 500 teachers, lecturers and staff on Wednesday, at SMA Negeri 70, Jakarta.

“Hopefully, after that, the COVID-19 vaccine can be administered to all educators and staff,” said Religious Affairs Ministry teachers and madrasah (Islamic school) education director at the Directorate General of Islamic Education, Muhammad Zain.

In total, there are 745,371 madrasah teachers, both civil servants and non-civil servants. A number of madrasas have organized face-to-face learning, especially in boarding madrasas. Even though face-to-face learning is conducted under strict health protocols, teachers are still at a high risk of contracting the virus.

Also read: Balance Vaccinations by Complying with Health Protocols

Hendarman, the Education and Culture Ministry’s acting head of cooperation and public relations, said that, based on data from the ministry, there are a total of 3,274,752 teachers and education staff in schools under the ministry. There are also around 300,000 lecturers.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

A medical worker administers a Covid-19 vaccine to an elderly person at a community health center (Puskesmas) in Duren Sawit, East Jakarta, on Tuesday (23/2/2021). Each day, the health center administers 20-50 doses of vaccines for elderly people. Health Ministry Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the current second phase of the vaccination drive was for public service workers and elderly people. In the case of the elderly, the first and second shot of the vaccine are given with a 28-day interval. For people aged 18-59, the vaccines are given with a 14-day interval. According to Health Ministry data, an additional 16,297 people received their first vaccine shots on Monday, bringing the total to 1,244,215 people. With the limited global supply of vaccines, the government prioritizes the vaccination of high-risk people to lower the mortality rate. (This caption was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko.)

Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) executive board chairperson Unifah Rosyidi welcomed the vaccination of teachers, lecturers and education staff, which will begin soon, saying this was the right time to protect the country’s educators. (NTA/TAM/TAN/IKA)

(This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia).