Gearing up for Gotong Royong Vaccination Program

KOMPAS/ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI

Health workers inject the Covid-19 vaccine into a journalist at the Cirebon Radar Building, Cirebon City, West Java, Monday (15/3/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Preparations are underway for the Gotong Royong private sector vaccination program. Several measures have been prepared to ensure that the program does not interfere with the government’s vaccination drive, such as vaccine types, distribution and the issuance of emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

PT Bio Farma president director Honesti Basyir said there would be two channels for the Gotong Royong program, through the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), which will register legal and private entities for the program, and through PT Bio Farma, which will register state-owned enterprises (BUMN) and region-owned enterprises (BUMD). Both Kadin and PT Bio Farma will then submit the data received to the Health Ministry.

“The Health Ministry will determine the amount of vaccine supply to be given as well as the allocation that Bio Farma will have to distribute. Vaccinations will be carried out at health facilities or at businesses. The health facilities used for the program will be separate from the government’s so that they do not overlap,” said Honesti at a meeting with House of Representatives Commission IX in Jakarta on Monday (15/3/2021).

Also read: Limited Supply Main Challenge in RI’s Vaccination Drive

Also read: Vaccine Development Must Meet Standard

The vaccines used in the Gotong Royong program will be separate from the ones used in the public program. This is in accordance with Health Ministerial Regulation No. 10/2021 on vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We have asked Sinopharm to commit to providing Indonesia with 15 million doses of the vaccine from the end of March until the end of the second quarter of 2021.

The two vaccines to be used in the Gotong Royong program are the Sinopharm vaccine from China and the Moderna vaccine from the United States. The Sinopharm vaccine is administered in two doses with an interval of 21 days, whereas the Moderna vaccine is given in two doses with an interval of 28 days.

“We have asked Sinopharm to commit to providing Indonesia with 15 million doses of the vaccine from the end of March until the end of the second quarter of 2021. We may have the option to receive another 15 million doses. For Moderna, we have asked their commitment in providing us with 5.2 million doses, which will be sent in the beginning of the third quarter of 2021,” said Honesti.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

A number of elderly residents are waiting for their turn to get the Covid-19 vaccine at Sawah Besar Sports Building, Central Jakarta, Monday (15/3/2021).

BPOM head Penny K. Lukito said EUA permits would be given to vaccines that had met specified quality, safety and efficacy requirements through preclinical and clinical trials.

Vaccine quality must meet these requirements, including the provision to obtain a good medicine manufacturing practices certification (CPOB). Product label information must be complete, objective and not misleading.

Also read: Help the Elderly Access COVID-19 Vaccines

Also read: We Need Greater Vaccine Variety

“In terms of the Gotong Royong program, the Sinopharm vaccine is in the process of receiving the EUA. Because the Sinopharm vaccine Indonesia will receive was produced by India and because it is estimated that India will give its approval in either May or June of 2021, it is hoped that the provision of the EUA in Indonesia will coincide with that too,” said Penny.

Honesti added that Moderna’s rolling submission data had not yet been submitted to the BPOM, and thus the EUA permit process had not yet begun.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Officers check the health of elderly residents before receiving the first injection of the Covid-19 vaccine at the Sawah Besar Sports Building, Central Jakarta, Monday (15/3/2021).

The number of companies

Kadin chairman Rosan P. Roeslani said that based on the data collected, 9,176 companies participated in the first phase of registration for the Gotong Royong vaccination program, which lasted from Jan. 28 to Feb. 28. This included micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as large enterprises. Meanwhile, 6.9 million people have been registered for the vaccination, consisting of employees and their families.

The second phase of registrations was held from March 10 to 14, and 2,372 companies registered. Thus, a total of 11,542 companies have been registered with a vaccination target of 7.4 million people.

“Intensive communication is maintained with the government to ensure that the Gotong Royong program adheres to existing regulations. We believe that interest in being vaccinated is increasing and that its implementation will run smoothly and transparently,” he said.

Also read: Indonesians Get More Vaccine Options in Inoculation Drive

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the Gotong Royong program was expected to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination across Indonesia so that herd immunity could be quickly achieved.

Health Ministry COVID-19 vaccinations spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the government would guarantee the safety and quality of COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccines administered to the public, she said, were certain not to have expired. Moreover, the Sinovac vaccine stock, which expires in March, had already been used up for the first phase of vaccinations.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccinations continue to run in many areas. Bekasi, West Java, for example, has seen high levels of enthusiasm for vaccination among the elderly compared to other vaccination targets. However, a number of elderly residents have faced difficulty in registering for vaccinations.

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.