In order to anticipate a surge in Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant, minister Budi stated, Covid-19 vaccination acceleration was underway. He expected teenage and adult vaccination to be completed by April 2022.
By
HELENA FRANSISCA NABABAN, TATANG MULYANA SINAGA
·3 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The House of Representatives has urged the government to catch up on vaccine coverage and guarantee the availability of Covid-19 drugs. This is intended to anticipate a surge in Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant predicted to occur from the end of February to March.
A House Commission IX member from the Prosperous Justice Party Faction, Netty Prasetiyani, said that while the booster vaccination program had started running, many people still had not yet received their first or second doses of the vaccine. Netty noted that primary vaccinations were crucial for the protection of citizens from Covid-19 infection.
“It should not happen that while booster shots are being carried out, many people are still lagging behind in their first and second doses,” she told a House Commission IX working meeting with the Health Ministry, as well as a hearing with the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) and the national Covid-19 task force in Jakarta on Tuesday (18/1/2022).
“In several regions the [first and second dose] vaccination coverage is low. The Health Ministry needs to coordinate with the Home Minister to summon regional heads,” said Rahmad Handoyo, a Commission IX member belonging to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
According to Health Ministry data, the vaccination coverage in Indonesia is 85.30 percent for the first dose and 58.14 percent for the second dose. However, three provinces register below 70 percent first-dose vaccination coverage: Maluku, West Papua and Papua.
Meanwhile, Anas Thahir, a Commission IX member from the United Development Party (PPP), said a supply of Covid-19 drugs would serve as an important resource in facing a spike in Covid-19 cases.
Rapid increase
Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the number of Omicron cases would increase rapidly. In Indonesia, the first Omicron case was identified in the middle of December, and as of yesterday, confirmed cases of the variant totaled 589 patients. “They had no severe symptoms and around 90 percent of the patients had been vaccinated twice,” he said.
A national Covid-19 task force report released on Tuesday showed that new Covid-19 cases totaled 1,362 people and 9 patients had died. The number of daily Covid-19 cases has kept rising over the last few weeks. In Jakarta, in-class learning activity in 39 schools has been temporarily halted due to the discovery of confirmed Covid-19 cases.
Deputy Jakarta Governor Ahmad Riza Patria indicated that 62 students, two teachers and three educational employees had been affected by the virus.
In order to anticipate a surge in Covid-19 cases of the Omicron variant, minister Budi stated, Covid-19 vaccination acceleration was underway. He expected teenage and adult vaccination to be completed by April 2022. With regard to drug supply, 400,000 molnupiravir antivirus tablets were available to Omicron patients with mild symptoms. This antivirus drug can be domestically produced, and its target for production is set in April.
BPOM Chief Penny K Lukito said four Covid-19 drugs had been granted emergency use authorization: favipiravir, remdesivir, regdanvimab and molnupiravir.