Vaccination of Media Workers Started

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Participants of the Covid-19 vaccination for media workers are in the waiting room before participating in the vaccination which took place at the Bung Karno Basketball Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (25/2/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — After healthcare workers, security officers, teachers and lecturers, journalists got their turn to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on Thursday (25/2/2021). President Joko Widodo hopes the Covid-19 vaccination can protect media workers in executing their journalistic duties.

The vaccination of media workers began with more than 1,000 journalists getting inoculated in Hall A of the Basket Complex, Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Senayan, Jakarta. Flanked by Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate and Press Council Chairman Mohammad Nuh, the President directly monitored the process of vaccination.

We hope this will be realized in other provinces so that all people of the press in the country will shortly get vaccinated.

Media workers were given priority as vaccine recipients because this type of occupation carries the risk of Covid-19 infection. Besides carrying out field coverage, journalists also maintain contacts with many resource persons. “Thank God, vaccinations for 5,500 members of the media have started. We hope this measure will provide protection for media personnel who often interact with the public and resource persons,” said the President.

The President expressed the hope that the inoculation of media workers would also be carried out in all parts of the country. “We hope this will be realized in other provinces so that all people of the press in the country will shortly get vaccinated,” he added.

Also read: Prevent Crowds in Mass Vaccination

TANGKAPAN LAYAR YOUTUBE SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN

President Joko Widodo ((right) observes the implementation of vaccination against media workers at the Basketball Hall of the Bung Karno Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (26/2/2021).

Second phase

So far, the second-phase national Covid-19 vaccination has covered market traders, teachers and media workers. This second stage also aims to involve civil servants, government personnel, drivers of public transportation means as well as other public workers and officers.

Meanwhile, hundreds of public service providers, including educators in Sidoarjo regency (East Java) have become an initial target of the second-phase Sinovac Covid-19 vaccination. Educators’ vaccination is important to prepare in-class learning planned for June this year.

Based on Kompas’ monitoring, around 230 regional government employees took part in the vaccination program at Gelora Delta Sidoarjo yesterday. The hundreds of employees came from six public service agencies, starting from the Sidoarjo Education Office and including teachers from several schools. “In stages, all employees in a number of regional administrative organizations in Sidoarjo will be inoculated against Covid-19 in the second-phase vaccination program,” said Acting Sidoarjo Regent Hudiyono.

Also read: Indonesia Calls for Equal Access to Vaccines

In Magelang, Central Java, around 4,000 police officers in the Central Java Regional Police have been vaccinated. They are mostly healthcare workers and personnel in direct contact with the public. “All doctors, medical workers in polyclinics and personnel interacting with residents are given first priority for vaccination,” said Central Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Ahmad Luthfi.

In the meantime, Covid-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers in three regencies in Papua province have not yet been realized. One regency is still arranging training for vaccinators while two others are ready to conduct inoculation next week.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Medical officers prepare syringes that will be used during the Covid-19 mass vaccination for media workers at the Bung Karno Basketball Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (25/2/2021).

Head of the Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Papua Provincial Health Office, Aaron Rumainum, said the three regencies that had not yet realized vaccination were Lanny Jaya, Puncak Jaya and Tolikara. “The three haven’t yet carried out inoculation because the face-to-face training for vaccinators is underway and there’s as yet no information from the regional administration to conduct vaccination,” he said.About 130,000 people have been designated in the second-phase Covid-19 vaccination program in Bandung city, West Java. Over 92 percent of them are seniors. The rest are public service officers and human resources in the health sector that faced constraints in the first-phase vaccination.

Head of the Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Bandung City Health Office, Rosye Arosdiani, said elderly residents received priority for the second-phase vaccination. Previously, the first-phase aimed at about 24,000 health personnel. “We’ve got new data (on the second-phase vaccination target) with about 120,000 seniors, 9,000 public officers and 8,000 healthcare workers whose vaccination has been delayed,” she said.

Also read: Vaccination Target Data Incomplete

The Transportation Ministry has ordered 70 Covid-19 detection devices of Gadjah Mada Electronic Nose or GeNose C19 units to be operated at ferry terminals all over Indonesia. This will bring fresh air to provinces that are partly coastal waters.

Director-General of Land Transportation Budi Setyadi stated that 200 GeNose units had been ordered, 70 of which were specially meant for ferry terminals. The Covid-19 detection devices are scheduled for operation at all ports in Indonesia in March 2021.

“Shortly, 70 GeNose units will be distributed to the terminals in Indonesia by PT ASDP (River, Lake and Ferry Transportation Company). They will arrive within two weeks,” said Budi. (NTA/FLO/EGI/TAM/ NIK/RTG/NDU)

(This article was translated by Aris Prawira)