The third dose of Covid-19 vaccine is prioritized for the elderly and vulnerable groups. The current stock of vaccines is sufficient for those who have not been vaccinated, as well as to start rolling out booster shots.
By
CYPRIANUS ANTO SAPTOWALYONO / DEONISIA ARLINTA
·5 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- The government started to administer booster Covid-19 vaccine shots – the third dose – for free on 12 January 2022, prioritizing the elderly, vulnerable groups with immune disorders, as well as people aged 18 years and older who have already received two doses. This effort is being made to increase the community's immunity considering that the coronavirus continues to mutate.
"For this reason, I have decided to give this third vaccine free of charge to all Indonesians because, once again I emphasize, the safety of the people is the main priority," said President Joko Widodo.
The President's statement regarding the third dose was delivered at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday (11/1/2022).
After a limited meeting chaired by the President on Monday (10/1), Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that this week Indonesia ranked fourth in the world in terms of the number of people vaccinated, with 169 million people having been vaccinated with the first dose. Indonesia's position is under China, India and the United States. Five provinces in Indonesia have not yet reached 70 percent regarding the first vaccination, namely West Sumatra, West Sulawesi, Maluku, West Papua and Papua.
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government had prepared the booster vaccines. "Several [vaccine products] have received EUA [emergency use authorization] from the BPOM [Food and Drug Supervisory Agency], namely Sinovac, CoronaVac, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Zifivax," he said.
Simultaneously
According to Budi, the booster shots will be provided free of charge for Indonesians aged 18 years and older and who received both vaccine doses at least six months ago. In January 2022, the target for booster vaccination is 21 million people. Vaccination is prioritized for the elderly and vulnerable groups who are immunocompromised.
Booster shots for the elderly will be carried out simultaneously in all regencies or cities. Booster vaccinations for vulnerable people, non-elderly citizens, can only be held in areas where the first dose of vaccination has covered at least 70 percent of the total population and the first dose for the elderly is at least 60 percent. According to data from the Health Ministry as of 10 January 2022, there are 273 regencies or cities that meet these requirements.
"The government has sufficient vaccine stock from last year's procurement contract which arrived this year and a significant addition from international donation through Covax and bilateral cooperation," said Budi. The total vaccine received from the collaboration with the Covax Facility was 54 million doses. The availability of booster vaccines in 2022 includes 62 million doses of Pfizer vaccine and 95.2 million Moderna vaccine doses.
The brand of vaccine that will be given takes into account the stock of vaccines and the outcome of research at home and abroad. From that consideration, there are three schemes for the booster vaccine rollout.
First, those who received a complete dose of primary vaccine (main dose vaccine) of the Sinovac type will receive a half-dose of Pfizer booster shot. Second, those who received the Sinovac primary vaccine could be given a half-dose of AstraZeneca booster vaccine. Third, those who received the Astra-Zeneca primary vaccine can receive a half-dose of the Moderna booster shot.
Budi explained that booster vaccines of a different type (heterologous) have the same or better antibody boost than booster vaccines of the same type (homologous). The administration of a half-dose booster vaccine is able to increase antibodies equal to or better than giving one dose and has a lighter impact on post-immunization follow-up events (AEFI).
"The initial combination of booster vaccines that will be given is based on the availability of vaccines and research results that have been approved by the BPOM and ITAGI [Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization]. Later, this can develop depending on the results of new research and the availability of existing vaccines," said Budi.
Even though the booster shot is free, the government maintains the gotong royong (mutual cooperation) vaccination mechanism. The maximum tariff for vaccination services will be determined by the Health Minister.
Vaccination flow
Acting director of health surveillance and quarantine at the Health Ministry, Prima Yosephine, said booster shots in vaccination programs would be carried out at health centers, public hospitals and vaccination service posts coordinated by the health office. Before getting the booster jabs, recipients are expected to do self-verification.
Verification can be done through the PeduliLindungi app or the PeduliLindungi website. In this application, the target recipients of the vaccine can check the feasibility of getting the booster vaccine and check when they can get the booster shot. From this verification, vaccine recipients will receive a booster vaccine ticket which will be shown to health workers at the vaccination center.
If they are a priority group, but have not yet received a ticket and vaccination schedule in the PeduliLindungi app, people can come to the nearest health facility or vaccination center by bringing their ID card and proof of vaccination for the first and second doses.
"This booster vaccination should continue to prioritize health workers [human resources] as in the previous program. This is because in some areas not all health workers have received booster shots," said Prima.