Regions with vaccination coverage of more than 70 percent may administer a third vaccine dose as a booster, with the technical implementation pending the results of studies by the ITAGI and BPOM.
By
KOMPAS TEAM
·5 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has decided to begin rolling out Covid-19 vaccination “boosters” in the country on 12 Jan. 2022. The first phase is to give a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to adults aged 18 and above who received their second dose more than six months ago.
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the government had identified a target of 21 million eligible vaccine recipients in January 2022.
“We will determine the type of booster. Some are homologous, or the same [vaccine]. Others are heterologous, or a different [vaccine],” Budi told the press following a limited meeting on a weekly evaluation of Covid-19 control and handling on Monday (3/1/2022).
The government is prioritizing rolling out the third vaccine dose for regencies/cities that fulfill the criteria of 70 percent first-dose vaccine coverage and 60 percent second-dose coverage. So far, at least 244 regencies/cities meet the criteria.
It is estimated that around 230 million booster doses are needed. The government has confirmed the current availability of around 113 million Covid-19 vaccine doses.
Separately, the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 vaccine spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, stressed that vaccine supplies were sufficient. According to her, the booster rollout will not disrupt the first and second dose vaccination currently underway.
Budi explained that to administer the booster rollout, the government was awaiting recommendations from the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), which was planned to be ready on 10 Jan. Based on the policy adopted by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), half a regular dose of the Moderna vaccine can be given as a booster.
“There’s in fact the issue of Moderna’s potency, which can result in post-immunization adverse events. ITAGI is now conducting research [on this], which will hopefully be finished on 10 January,” he said.
If half doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines could be given without any difference in effectiveness, it is likely the entire demand for the booster rollout can be met by the government’s supply of free vaccines.
“But this is under discussion. There will be a report from the team of ITAGI professors who will submit the study’s results on 10 January,” the minister told the press briefing, flanked by Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto.
Airlangga added that the government was drafting a presidential decree as a legal umbrella for the booster rollout. “For the [booster] vaccines, a presidential decree is being prepared, but the options [paid or unpaid] remain. There are the PBI-based [for social assistance recipients] and the self-paid options. But the later implementation depends on the need for the vaccines,” he said.
No exemptions
In his message at the limited meeting, President Joko Widodo emphasized that there should be no more exemptions from the quarantine for international arrivals. He also urged that special attention be given to the quarantine of travelers arriving from abroad.
This is because almost all Omicron cases have been imported. “There should be no recurrence of dispensations, let alone [fees],” the President said.
Luhut affirmed that the quarantine policy would refer to the instruction of the home minister currently in force. “We can make no more discretions. We only refer to the home minister’s instruction,” he said.
The government recently decided to reduce the quarantine period for overseas travelers from 14 days to 10 days and from 10 days to 7 days. The government will also add two more countries to the list of 13 countries with the highest caseloads that were subject to 10 days’ quarantine. Travelers from countries with smaller caseloads would be quarantined for only 7 days.
Facing Omicron
The Surabaya regional administration in East Java has taken anticipatory measures against potential Omicron transmission. The Surabaya Covid-19 task force has appealed to its residents to take the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on their return from traveling to other regions.
The move followed two Omicron cases in Surabaya. The two Surabaya residents were found to have been infected with the highly transmissible variant after they were tested on their return from a weeklong holiday in Bali.
In Tangerang, Banten, 14 Farmalab employees and one I-lab employee at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport confirmed as Covid-19 cases last week are thought to be suspected Omicron cases. It is believed they could have been infected by overseas travelers.
They are currently in quarantine while awaiting the results of whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis from the Health Ministry’s Health Research and Development Agency. “They are suspected Omicron cases, including family members of the I-Lab officer,” said Siti.
Farmalab wholesale manager M.A. Gunawan said that the 14 Farmalab employees were on one team and were confirmed to have Covid-19 when undergoing regular testing on 31 Dec. Later that evening, they were quarantined at the Athletes Village Emergency Hospital.
Meanwhile, the other suspected Omicron case is an administrative staffer at I-lab. I-lab manager Vera said the employee had tested positive through a swab test on 30 Dec. and was being treated at Sulianti Saroso Infectious Diseases Hospital.