The Third Dose of Vaccination Accelerates the Transition Towards the Covid-19 Endemic
The government continues to accelerate the complete vaccination program as well as the third dose to the public. This policy is expected to accelerate the transition from a pandemic to a Covid-19 endemic.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Siti Nadia Tarmizi said, “The public must be serious and realize that even though the antibodies produced are high after getting a complete vaccination plus a booster, the possibility of being infected with Covid-19 is still there. It’s just that the risk of severe symptoms and death from Covid-19 is reduced. Especially for the elderly and those with comorbidities, it is very important to get protection from complete and booster vaccinations.
Nadia reminded that the vaccination target needs to be pursued further and faster. Because this will accelerate the formation of herd immunity in the Indonesian population, especially to prevent a spike in cases. Vaccination dose 1 has been given to more than 190 million people. Then the second dose of vaccination has been given more than 150 million. Meanwhile, booster vaccinations have also been given to around 16 million people.
This achievement cannot be separated from the support of the private sector, one of which is the role of a startup in the health technology sector, SehatQ, which has distributed 15,346 Covid-19 vaccines to the Indonesian people in the first quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the DPR RI, Nihayatul Wafiroh, supports the government’s policy of allowing Lebaran homecoming on the condition that the booster vaccine has been received. He considered that the policy would encourage the acceleration of booster vaccination in the community, generally in areas that had difficulty accessing land transportation.
In addition, the Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) continues to encourage the acceleration of vaccination for workers in the industrial sector, including the provision of a third dose of vaccine or booster vaccine. Especially for industrial workers who previously received the Gotong Royong vaccination under the Sinopharm brand, now the government has officially added this type of vaccine as one of the booster vaccine regimens.
In accelerating the booster vaccination for the industrial sector, the Ministry of Industry has also proposed reducing the time gap between the injection of the second dose of vaccine and the booster vaccine to only three months, from the previous six months.
Currently, the rules for giving booster vaccines are at least three months after receiving the full dose of vaccination, in accordance with the Circular (SE) of the Director General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health Number SR.02.06/II/1180/2022 concerning Adjustment of the Implementation of Covid-19 Vaccination Doses Advanced (Booster) for the general public.
Director General of Resilience, Territorial & International Industrial Access (KPAII) Ministry of Indonesia Eko S.A. Cahyanto, said that according to the Minister of Industry Decree 2/2022, industrial companies and industrial estates need to provide a third dose of vaccination for their work, either independently or in collaboration with other parties. The Ministry of Industry will also coordinate with industry associations or associations to coordinate all members to immediately obtain booster vaccines.
Meanwhile, the Expert Staff for Strengthening Domestic Industry Capabilities at the Ministry of Industry, Ignatius Warsito said, based on the Minister of Industry Decree 2/2022, industrial companies and industrial estates are targeted to carry out booster vaccinations for 50 percent of their employees by June 2022. Until December 2022, all industrial companies required to have vaccinated 100 percent of its employees.
The implementation of this booster vaccination must later be reported in the Operational and Mobility Industrial Activities (IOMKI) permit through the National Industrial Information System (SIINAS) of the Ministry of Industry. We also need to know that vaccination is also an activity that can reduce severe symptoms. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, carried out by the Health Research and Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, proved that the vaccine was able to reduce the risk of being infected with Covid-19, as well as reduce care and death for health workers. The study was conducted on 71,455 health workers in Jakarta, including nurses, doctors, midwives, technicians and other general personnel during the period January-June 2021.
The booster vaccine is something that the government and authorized institutions must continue to strive for, by intensifying the booster vaccination, more people will be protected from the dangers that can be caused by Covid-19. So this will accelerate the pandemic situation to become endemic.
Tauhid Kurniawan, the author is a contributor to the Press Circle and a Cikini student
