Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout for Children to Begin Soon
The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has approved the emergency use of the Sinovac vaccine for children from 12 to 17 years of age.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·4 minutes read
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN
President Joko Widodo delivers a statement regarding vaccinations for children aged 12-17 at the Merdeka Palace, Monday (28/6/2021).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The government will soon begin vaccinating children aged 12-17 against the coronavirus following the issuance of emergency use approval (EUA) by the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) for the Sinovac vaccine, which has been declared safe for children in that age group.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced that the BPOM had issued EUA for the Sinovac vaccine, which has been declared safe for children aged 12-17 years. "Thus, the vaccination for children in that age range can start immediately," President Jokowi said on Monday (28/6/2021) at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
The President reminded all parties to continue to work hard in order to achieve the increased vaccination target of 1 million doses per day by the end of July.
"And we can double the vaccination rate in August 2021 to 2 million doses per day," he added.
President Jokowi said that efforts to suppress the spread of Covid-19 needed public support, and encouraged all parties to be vaccinated and maintain discipline in adhering to the health protocols.
“I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, we must all not hesitate to be vaccinated and to remain disciplined in following the health protocols [of] wearing masks, maintaining [safe] distance, and washing hands. Once again, I remind you to stay at home unless there is an urgent need," said the President.
According to the Health Ministry, as many as 27 million people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine while 13 million other people have received their second dose. The government plans to be vaccinating 1 million people per day by the end of July to achieve its target to vaccinate 181 million people by December.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, following his visit to the Kompas Gramedia Vaccination Center on Monday, said the Jakarta administration planned to vaccinate at least 100,000 people per day to achieve a vaccination target of 7.5 million people by August.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
Medical officers inject the Covid-19 vaccine to media workers at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jakarta, Monday (28/6/2021). The vaccination, which was held by Kompas Gramedia and the Press Council for 10,000 media workers, was carried out over a period of 25 days.
Ivermectin drug therapy
In addition to issuing the Sinovac EUA for children, the BPOM has also approved the commencement of clinical trials for ivermectin, an antiparasitic, for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
“So far, the BPOM has issued a distribution permit for ivermectin for deworming. However, this drug has been used globally for treating Covid-19 patients, such as in India. According to the WHO [World Health Organization] guidelines, this drug can be used in clinical trials for Covid-19 [treatments]," BPOM head Penny Lukito said.
The clinical trials will be run over a period of three months by the Health Ministry’s Research and Development Agency, in cooperation with eight hospitals. The participating hospitals are the Persahabatan, Sulianti Saroso, Gatot Soebroto, Suyoto and Dr. Esnawan Antariksa Air Force hospitals in Jakarta, Soedarso Regional General Hospital in Pontianak and Adam Malik Central General Hospital in Medan, as well as the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital in Jakarta.
“Outside these hospitals, doctors are allowed to give ivermectin, but with caution and according to procedures. As a precaution, people may not buy [the drug] freely, including through online stores," Penny explained.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir said the ministry had prepared to produce 4.5 million ivermectin tablets. "If it turns out to be good for everyone, of course we will increase production," he said.
Kompas/Priyombodo
Residents undergo a health check before receiving an injection of the Covid-19 vaccine at RW 01, Pinang Village, Pinang District, Tangerang City, Banten, Wednesday (23/6/2021). The pick-up vaccination at the red zone location was carried out by officers from the Kunciran Baru Health Center using the Sinovac vaccine.
Collapse
The latest WHO situation report for Indonesia, issued on Wednesday (23/6), stated that most provinces in Java had recorded an increase in Covid-19 cases and deaths. In addition, the bed occupancy rate at hospitals had exceeded 90 percent.
Epidemiologist Iwan Ariawan at the University of Indonesia public health school said that community mobility remained extremely high in Java amid the collapse of healthcare services in various cities on the island. The situation would only worsen without tighter restrictions, he added.
Based on Kompas monitoring in a number of regions, Covid-19 cases have spiked in the cities of Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Palu and Surakarta as well as the regencies of Majalengka and Bantul.
With several hospitals at full capacity, extra beds are needed to meet the surge in patients.
A number of hospitals have implemented an open-close system for their emergency room (IGD) and have erected emergency tents to accommodate patients.
In Surakarta, mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka has restricted community mobility by limiting the operating hours of shopping centers to 8 p.m. Children are also not permitted to enter malls and visitors have been advised not to eat on the premises, as restaurants may only provide takeaway or delivery services.
"We have to make a sacrifice for a few weeks. I\'m sure [cases] will decline later," he said.
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi. (CAS/TAN/AIK/IKI/TAM/NCA/HRS/RTG/DIT/VDL/DAN)
