By: Deka Prawira )*
The government continues to optimize the national vaccination program to accelerate the formation of community immunity. One of these efforts is to accelerate the distribution of vaccines to a number of regions.
Johny G Plate as the Minister of Communication and Information said that as of August 8, 2021, the government had distributed 101.68 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to regions. This figure is equivalent to 94 percent of the Covid-19 vaccine that has been released, namely 107.82 million doses.
Johny said that the majority of the vaccines distributed were Sinovac vaccines processed by PT Bio Farma (Persero) with 81.42 million doses. Followed by AstraZeneca vaccine with 14.79 million doses, Sinovac imported in finished form with 3 million doses, Moderna 2.95 million doses, and Sinopharm 460.88 thousand doses.
He explained, it is important to know that vaccines imported in bulk or raw materials are vaccines from Sinovac. The vaccine still require further processing at Bio Farma to be processed into a product so m e merlukan approximately one month and then distributed. Meanwhile, Johny continued, for the types of ready-made vaccines received, there is still a quarantine process and also requires a lot of release from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) before being distributed.
Meanwhile, Siti Nadia Tarmizi as Spokesperson for the Covid-19 Vaccination of the Ministry of Health hopes that the stock of Covid-19 vaccines that will be used later is expected to be used carefully. According to him, the available vaccines are not only to widen the vaccination coverage of local communities, but also to ensure that people who receive the first dose will also receive the second dose on time.
Nadia also asked the public not to hesitate to be vaccinated according to the vaccine availability schedule in their respective regions. Of course, don’t forget to continue to carry out health protocols so that the determination to reduce the transmission of the corona virus can continue to run consistently.
Meanwhile, the Government Spokesperson for Covid-19 Handling, Prof. Wiku Adisasmito emphasized that the government is currently focusing on distributing vaccines evenly to all provinces, especially in areas with higher transmission rates.
In addition to prioritizing vulnerable areas, vaccination is also prioritized for vulnerable groups. According to Wiku, the government is trying to fulfill the need for vaccines for the community.
Furthermore, regarding the booster vaccination program , Wiku explained, this program is still prioritized for health workers and assistant health workers, including other supporting health staff who work in health care facilities . They are the ones who have the most potential to be exposed to the corona virus again because the environment where they work is an infectious area. In addition, they also have a vital role in efforts to control Covid-19.
The booster or additional vaccines given to these medical personnel use modern vaccines. Meanwhile, related to the development of the red and white vaccine, Wiku said that currently the vaccine is still in the pre-clinical stage and industrial preparation.
On a different occasion, the Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa innovated to form a vaccination cluster as an effort to achieve communal immunity or herd immunity as well as control the spread of Covid-19 in the local area. The number 1 person in East Java has appointed the Director of RSU H Surabaya, Dr. Herlin Ferliana as the coordinator of the vaccination cluster.
Thus, in the Covid-19 handling task force in East Java, there are currently five clumps that have their respective duties and functions to control and prevent the corona virus .
The previous four clusters, namely the promotive cluster in charge of logistics under the command of the East Java BPBD, and the tracing and testing cluster under the control of Dr. Kohar Harisantoso. Then the curative cluster is coordinated by Dr. Joni Wahyuhadi, and the socio-economic impact cluster is controlled by the Deputy Governor of East Java, Emil Elestianto Dardak. According to Khofifah, the task of the vaccination cluster will be to distribute vaccines to all regions, then map out which areas are in need and what type of vaccine .
The key to vaccine distribution is, of course, not only the central government, but also local governments, which also have the duty to invite people to participate in the vaccination program.
Vaccine distribution is of course expected to be a breath of fresh air for the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, so that herd immunity with 70% of the population being vaccinated can be achieved before 2021 ends.
)* The author is a contributor to the Press Circle and Cikini Students