Help the Elderly Access COVID-19 Vaccines

Elderly people are among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus. Therefore, they must be assisted by all parties so that they can quickly access COVID-19 vaccines.

KOMPAS/TOTOK WIJAYANTO

The medical team injects the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine during vaccination for the elderly by "drive thru" in the Kemayoran area, Jakarta, Wednesday (3/3/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Senior citizens are enthusiastic about participating in the COVID-19 vaccination drive. Some, however, find it difficult to access the program because of the limited supplies of vaccines and unclear information on registration and vaccination schedules. All parties, therefore, must help the elderly access COVID-19 services.

Unclear information has made elderly residents who have registered for the vaccination program queue for quite a long time at a number of community health centers (Puskesmas) and hospitals. At the Kembangan Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in West Jakarta, a number of elderly people queued at the hospital’s information desk on Wednesday (3/3/2021) afternoon.

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Lydia Widjaja, 66, a resident of South Meruya, Kembangan, asked for a clear vaccination schedule as she had not received any information since she registered on Saturday (27/2). Meanwhile, her neighbor got a vaccination schedule a few hours after registering. Lydia, her husband and her 91-year-old mother, therefore, were waiting since the early morning at RSUD Kembangan. “The officer said my documents were still being examined. I hope there is clear information,” she said.

After learning that the registration was online and complicated, I don’t think I will join.

Helen, 31, a resident of Kembangan, has not received any information regarding the vaccination schedule for her parents and parents-in-law since she registered them through the dki.kemkes.go.id website on Feb. 23. “It’s been more than a week. I am worried that my parents haven’t been registered,” she said.

Abdurrohman, 70, a resident of Johar Baru, Jakarta, acknowledged that he was reluctant to participate in the vaccination program after hearing that he had to register online. He was enthusiastic about the program at first. “After learning that the registration was online and complicated, I don’t think I will join,” he said.

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To help the elderly access the vaccination program, some subdistrict heads have deployed neighborhood unit (RT) and community unit (RW) officials to send invitations and COVID-19 vaccination schedules to the elderly. Vaccinations are also being held near residential areas. These proactive efforts were carried out to minimize long lines at the vaccination site. Sariman, head of North Grogol subdistrict in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, for example, has deployed RT and RW officials to help elderly residents in his neighborhood register for the COVID-19 vaccination program online.

KOMPAS/ADITYA DIVERANTA

Elderly residents wait at the service outlets of the Regional General Hospital (RSUD) Kembangan, West Jakarta, Wednesday (3/3/2021). They are lining up to get clear information regarding Covid-19 vaccination.

Registration mechanism

Vaccination registration for the elderly can only be done at the dki.kemenkes.go.id website. Furthermore, applicants will receive an invitation for the vaccination by WhatsApp or text message. But not all elderly residents have the technology or capability to access the registration page.

In a number of regions, vaccinations for the elderly have begun. Ambon Health Agency head Wendy Pelupessy said not all elderly residents could access the registration page or receive notifications by cell phone. So far, the registration has been carried out by the Population Agency based on population data. Therefore, elderly residents of accompanying families are asked to visit the nearest community health center.

Also read: Vaccination Target Data Incomplete

In Semarang, Central Java, community health centers assist elderly people who face difficulties registering for the vaccination program. However, with a limited vaccine supply, many people have been asked to be patient.

Dien Hasanah, the head of the Miroto Community Health Center (puskesmas) in Semarang, said that in the second phase of vaccination, her party received an allocation of 600 doses of first injections. Nearly 40 percent of that amount is for the elderly. “We help elderly residents who have come to register on the link, especially those who are confused about how to do it,” Dien said.

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The Miroto Puskesmas has carried out efforts to inform the public about about the vaccination program for the elderly. “Familiarization is carried out through WhatsApp groups, subdistrict head and community leader deliberation forums, health workers, the PKK [Family Welfare Movement], subdistrict health forums, social media and direct measures.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Health workers serve residents who have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine during vaccination for the elderly at the Grogol Petamburan Youth Center, West Jakarta, Wednesday (3/3/2021).

Limited vaccine supply

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that in the first half of 2021, only 45 million people could be vaccinated. Meanwhile, the government hopes to inoculate 181.5 million people this year. This condition is due to the limited availability of vaccines. By June 2021, Indonesia expects to receive 97 million vaccine doses produced by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac.

“[More doses of] vaccines will start to come in July. Vaccinations will be more difficult in the second half of the year. With 45 million people getting vaccinated in the first half, that means that the remaining 140 million people will need to be vaccinated within six months. According to my calculations, we need [to vaccinate] 2 to 3 million people per day,” Budi said.

Vaccinations will be more difficult in the second half of the year.

This situation will hamper the formation of herd immunity in the near future. However, vaccines can still reduce the severity and mortality rate of the disease if the government prioritizes injections for the elderly.

“Herd immunity is unlikely to be achieved in the near future. It is impossible for us to inject 170 million doses of vaccines in a year,” said epidemiologist Pandu Riono from the University of Indonesia\'s School of Public Health during an online discussion held by the university’s alumni association yesterday. Vaccines also have not prevented virus transmission but have been shown to lessen severity and mortality.

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Following the completion of vaccinations for health workers, the government, should focus on providing vaccines to senior citizens, considering that more than 50 percent of COVID-19 patients who died were elderly. “As the vaccine supply is limited, no one should cut the allocation [of vaccines] for the elderly,” Riono said.

Meanwhile, two migrant workers from Karawang, West Java, were found to have been exposed to a new variant of the virus, known as B117, for the first time in the country. Though both of them have tested negative for the disease, a team comprised of officials from the regency, province and central government has been carrying out close contact tracing to break the chain of transmission. According to West Java governor Ridwan Kamil, the B117 case was detected in Karawang.

(DAN/SKA/DIV/TAN/AIK/MEL/TAM/HLN/FRN/DIT)

This article was translated by Camilia Adianti.