Vaccine Availability Continuously Endeavored

Indonesia has again received an additional vaccine allotment from the multilateral channel, totaling 3.85 million vaccine doses produced by AstraZeneca, which arrived in the country on Monday (26/4/2021).

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A total of 3.8 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Monday (26/4/2021). The vaccine is the result of multilateral cooperation with the Covax Facility.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The procurement of Covid-19 vaccines is continuing. Indonesia has again received an additional vaccine allotment from the multilateral channel, totaling 3.85 million vaccine doses produced by AstraZeneca, which arrived in the country on Monday evening (26/4/2021). Despite the additional supply, vaccine stocks have remained limited, therefore priority remains with senior citizens.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi monitored the arrival of the vaccine at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, yesterday. In the first phase, Indonesia received 1.1 million vaccine doses from the multilateral channel on 3 March 2021.

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With the arrival of the second batch, Indonesia has been allocated a total of 4.96 million AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the Covax Facility for free. “We hope further multilateral vaccine deliveries will be realized as scheduled. Indonesia’s diplomacy strives hard to ensure the nation’s exit from this pandemic,” she said.

Earlier, vaccine deliveries from the Covax Facility faced a constraint due to the embargo imposed by vaccine producers. The quantity of vaccines approved to be received by Indonesia under the cooperation is 54 million doses.

Indonesia’s diplomacy strives hard to ensure the nation’s exit from this pandemic.

The procurement of Covid-19 vaccines through Covax has been enabled under international cooperation among others between donor countries, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Indonesia is among countries obtaining vaccines under this cooperation.

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Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the government was working hard to ensure the availability of the Covid-19 vaccine for the vaccination program. He conveyed this after monitoring the arrival of vaccines through the multilateral route at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Monday (26/4/2021) evening.

Retno affirmed the government’s effort to make vaccines available to the public. This is done along with the attempt to ensure equitable access to vaccines for all world citizens. The increasing cases at the global level pose a challenge to the supply of vaccines due to the rising global demand.

“Due to its persistence, Indonesia is the country with the third-largest vaccine allocation in Asia, after China and India. Nevertheless, the prevention of Covid-19 infection should be done with disciplined observance of health protocols,” she added.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in his press statement following a meeting presided over by President Joko Widodo reminded citizens of the need to exercise caution. The relaxed implementation of health protocols, the lack of alertness and the new mutation of SARS-CoV-2 causing Covid-19 has led to surging cases in India.

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Therefore, in spite of being vaccinated, residents should continue to comply with health protocols. Vaccination does not make somebody immune to Covid-19.

“Vaccination strengthens the immune system so that when the virus affects us, there’s no need to be hospitalized. Even if hospitalized, we will soon recover. After vaccination, we can still be infected and transmit the disease to others,” he said.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

The officer checked the body temperature of an elderly citizen from RW 010, Margasari Village, Buahbatu District, Bandung City, for the Covid-19 vaccination at the Margahayu Raya Community Health Center, Buahbatu, Monday (26/4/2021).

Retno appealed for all residents to maintain the practice of wearing face masks, washing hands and social distancing. “It’s necessary to cooperate and be united to fight the virus, by observing the health protocols, wearing masks, washing hands and distancing from each other,” she indicated.

Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo asked the government and hospitals not to allow the decrease in new Covid-19 cases to fuel euphoria.

Large population

Regions are always reminded to prioritize the allocation of 60-70 percent of vaccine doses to elderly people.

Separately, Health Ministry spokesperson for Covid-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said vaccine stocks were limited although new Covid-19 vaccine doses had arrived in Indonesia. With its large population, Indonesia has to vaccinate 181 million people in order to build herd immunity.

For this reason, vaccination prioritizes vulnerable people. Besides healthcare workers, senior residents are given priority because their condition may worsen when affected by Covid-19.

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Healthy Ministry data show that Covid-19 fatalities mostly involve elderly residents. Around 33 percent of deaths are found among those aged above 65 and 30.7 percent in the 55-64 age group. “Regions are always reminded to prioritize the allocation of 60-70 percent of vaccine doses to elderly people,” added Nadia.

The recipients of Covid-19 vaccine shots until 26 April 2021 for their first doses totaled 11.8 million people, comprising 1.4 million healthcare workers, 7.9 million public service officers and 2.4 million elderly residents. Second doses were received by 7 million people, made up of 1.3 million healthcare workers, 4.3 million public service officers and 1.3 million elderly citizens.

This article was translated by Aris Prawira