Indonesian Ambassador To United Arab Emirates: With The Vaccine, God Willing, We Will Be Healthy

JAKARTA - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the leading countries in the case of COVID-19 vaccination. Since October 2020, the UAE has started vaccinating COVID-19, not only for its citizens, the UAE government has also provided vaccinations to citizens of other countries who live and have activities in the UAE.

The ranks of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) for the UAE are among the parties that get the opportunity for vaccination. The Indonesian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Husin Bagis said, the Indonesian Embassy received and served many people, both local citizens and Indonesian citizens.

"It makes us interact directly with the public, that's the basis for our request to the UAE government to give the vaccine. The Abu Dhabi government is very helpful to the Indonesian Embassy because not all embassies of other countries have received the vaccine facilities," he said in a statement received on Tuesday 15 December.

He said this during the Productive Dialogue on the theme "Experience of Covid-19 Vaccination in the United Arab Emirates", which was held by the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), Monday, December 14.

In the vaccination process, citizens will first consult a doctor to find out their previous medical history and measure blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar. There is no special preparation, for those who are healthy they can be vaccinated immediately, for those who are unhealthy the vaccination is postponed.

To note, the injection of the COVID-19 vaccine is carried out in two stages. The first shot we got was on October 21, then the second shot was on November 23.

"The second term for friends at the Indonesian Embassy who have not been vaccinated is opened on November 23 for the first injection and December 5 for the second injection," said Husin Bagis.

Furthermore, Husin Bugis conveyed his condition after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination.

"Alhamdulillah, so far there have been no different things from myself and my health after being vaccinated against COVID-19. Everything went well, I asked my wife and evaluated the condition of friends at other Indonesian embassies, most of them were fine, only one or two. who was a little afraid after that was normal. Then there would be a kind of anti-body test on me, to see the efficacy of the vaccine, "he said.

The progress of the UAE in providing a COVID-19 vaccination program according to Husin Bagis is the fruit of controlled domestic policy and measured foreign diplomacy.

Since COVID-19 hit the UAE, he continued, domestic policy has directly implemented WHO standard health protocols, restricted religious activities and marriages. Meanwhile, the foreign policy of the UAE government at that time thought that China was the first to be affected by COVID-19.

"Based on that, the UAE government immediately contacted Sinopharm to work together because they thought China would definitely initiate efforts to find a solution to this pandemic. In the end, the UAE and Chinese governments collaborated through the G42 company, in Abu Dhabi. Initially G42 was a technology company in the field of artificial intelligence development. , which now supplies the COVID-19 vaccine. The impact of domestic and foreign policies is supported by a small population, so that the pandemic is easily controlled and the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination runs without a hitch, "he explained

Even though the UAE has been vaccinated, the community continues to carry out WHO standard health protocols, namely, wearing masks, washing hands and maintaining distance, until the UAE government announces that they are free from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the people of the UAE are very enthusiastic about the presence of vaccines, because this vaccine contributes greatly to the effort to restore their normal lives.

"The local population of the UAE is 100 percent Muslim, certainly verification of the halalness and efficacy of the Sinopharm vaccine has been carried out. The public is sure that the vaccines produced by Sinopharm are halal. The UAE government has also conveyed clearly about the halalness of the vaccine. We in Indonesia must also be sure of the process being carried out the government is studying the halalness of the COVID-19 vaccine. Because with the vaccine, God willing, we will be healthy and return to normal life, "concluded Husin Bagis.