Time to Accelerate Vaccination

The number of daily cases and Covid-19 deaths has declined significantly of late, but special attention should be given to the infection management indicator, namely vaccination.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Two pedestrians (right) wearing masks pass through the pedestrian path in the Karet Semanggi area, South Jakarta, Tuesday (5/10/2021). The implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) as an effort to control the Covid-19 pandemic is still being continued and extended from 5-18 October 2021.

The Kompas Covid-19 Control Index as of 4 Oct. 2021 recorded an improvement in the pandemic in Indonesia, as the number of new daily cases continued to decline. However, the low percentage of people who had received two vaccine doses to achieve full vaccination, one of the index’s six indicators, requires special attention. It is therefore necessary to evenly accelerate the vaccination drive in all regions.

The national score increased by two points to 75, from 73 the previous week. Only three provinces saw their scores decrease this week, namely Bengkulu (4 points), West Kalimantan (3 points), and Papua (2 points).

The score was the highest since the index was created in July 2021. The score increased was mainly as the result of improvements in infection and treatment management. The score for infection management reached 36 out of a maximum 50 points for the first time.

None of the country’s 34 provinces recorded a decline in their infection management scores compared to the previous week. This means that no province reported an increase in cases.

Also read:

> Speed Up Vaccine Coverage

> Control, the Key to Living with Covid-19

The improvement in infection management is in line with the declining number of nationwide confirmed Covid-19 cases. During the index’s measurement period from 28 Sept. to 4 Oct. 2021, the number of confirmed cases dropped sharply.

In fact, new daily cases totaled only 922 on 4 Oct., the lowest figure so far this year.

A similar situation was also seen in the fatality rate, one of the indicators for treatment management. The number of daily deaths fell below 100 on 4 Oct. In fact, it had declined to 58 on 3 Oct., the lowest this year.

KOMPAS/AGNES SWETTA PANDIA

Students who have received the second dose of vaccine are waiting for a vaccine certificate from the vaccination program in collaboration with Kompas Gramedia and Kalbe at the Petrokimia Gresik Auditorium, Tuesday (5/10/2021).

Vaccination inequity

Although the number of daily cases and deaths has dropped significantly, special attention should also be given to the indicators of infection management, namely vaccination, because the percentage of people who have received two doses remains relatively low.

As of 4 Oct., only 35.1 percent of the national population had received one vaccine dose. Meanwhile, the people who had received two doses during the same period only accounted for 19.8 percent of the population.

Also read:

> Covid-19 Index Helps Public Monitor Regions

> Tighten Protocols and Tracing at PON Papua

The low vaccination rate is partly due to regional inequality in the vaccination drive. Of the 34 provinces, only Jakarta has almost achieved a perfect score in people who have received two vaccine doses.

As of 4 Oct., 8.02 million people were fully vaccinated, or 76 percent of the national population.

Other provinces that had achieved a high number of fully vaccinated people were Bali (62.8 percent) and the Riau Islands (45.5 percent). The high vaccination rates in these three provinces cannot be separated from public acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccines and an adequate vaccine supply.

Regular evaluation

The Health Ministry’s Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the Covid-19 vaccination drive was evaluated regularly. However, the data was still not based on real-time reporting, which remained an obstacle in vaccination supervision and monitoring in the regions drives.

"Currently, the data for vaccination and Smile (Electronic Immunization Logistics Monitoring System) continue to be synchronized to ensure that the data will be more real-time," she said, adding that the government would continue to ensure the availability of vaccines.

(KOMPAS R&D)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.