By: Dodik Prasetyo) *
The government will bring in the AstraZeneca vaccine in the first quarter of 2021. This British-made vaccine is claimed to be effective in dealing with corona, and is injected for Indonesian citizens over 18 years of age. The arrival of this vaccine was welcomed by the public, because the more vaccine stocks that arrive, the faster the immunization will be completed.
Vaccination is a powerful way to deal with the covid-19 pandemic, because it can form herd immunity, so that everyone is immune to corona. Currently only Sinovac vaccine is used by the government, but there are only 3 million doses in stock. Even though there are more than 200 million people in Indonesia. So that the government will increase the stock of vaccines made by other factories.
The upcoming vaccine in Indonesia is the AstraZeneca corona vaccine. Unlike the Sinovac vaccine which is made from an attenuated virus, the AstraZeneca vaccine is made from mRna. But the same benefits in fighting the ferocity of the corona. While the efficacy reaches 70%.
The government has received a letter from GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization). They will deliver the AstraZeneca vaccine in 2 stages. In the first quarter of 2021, there will be 13.7 to 23.1 million doses of vaccine. Meanwhile, the rest, which is around 65-75% of the shipment quota, will arrive in the second quarter of 2021.
The public does not have to worry about the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccine, because like the Sinovac vaccine, the injection costs are 100% free. This is a multilateral collaboration with the GAVI COVAX facility, which is a vaccine development collaboration between WHO and GAVI. Vaccination spokesperson from the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, stated that the procurement of vaccines through the GAVI scheme is a success of government diplomacy. Through COVAX, you get a vaccine that is free and comes fast. It will also complement the types of vaccines currently available.
Why is the Astra Zeneca vaccine free? Because for the sake of equitable access to poor and developing countries, to get the corona vaccine. This is a WHO program that really helps developing countries like Indonesia, so that national vaccinations can be completed quickly.
Nadia continued, even though she had received a letter from GAVI, the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccine was still awaiting validation from the Independent Vaccine Allocation Task Force (AIVG) and WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL). So that people are expected to be patient to get their turn being injected with vaccines.
People are still waiting and happy, because this British-made vaccine is safe to use for people aged 18 years. It could even be for those aged over 60 years. So, this vaccine is very good because the average corona patient who is in a dangerous status because of having comorbid (congenital disease) is already elderly.
Those who are elderly can be injected with the vaccine and are no longer worried about contracting the corona. Indeed, they are usually in retirement age, but they can still catch them if they are careless, for example when they walk in the morning and lack discipline in wearing masks, etc. So that when AstraZeneca vaccines, immunity will be formed in his body.
However, people should not be lax in adhering to health protocols. Even though it will be his turn to be injected with the AstraZeneca vaccine, he still has to wear a mask and comply with other health protocols. Because the pandemic has just been declared over, when herd immunity is formed, which is predicted to only be 1 year after the national vaccination begins.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is a type of vaccine that can be used by people over 60 years of age. So later this vaccine can be specially injected for the elderly who are more at risk of contracting corona. The reason is because they have comorbidities, such as heart disease, kidney disease, etc. The procurement of this vaccine will increase the stock, so that all Indonesian citizens will get it and be corona free.
) * The author is a contributor to the Indonesian Strategic Information Studies Institute (LSISI)