Covid-19 Vaccination Conducted In Mid-January, Provided Emergency Permit Is Obtained

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN) Airlangga Hartato said that the COVID-19 vaccination could be carried out in mid-January.

With a note, the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Sinovac vaccine which has been imported to Indonesia as many as 3 million doses.

"The government will immediately initiate vaccinations scheduled for the middle of the month or next week. This is of course awaiting emergency use authorization from the POM," said Airlangga in the Presidential Secretariat Youtube broadcast, Monday, January 4.

Airlangga said that the EUA permit for the Sinovac vaccine would be issued after seeing the data on the results of phase 3 clinical trials conducted in Bandung and a number of other countries such as China, Turkey and Brazil.

Not only that, the implementation of vaccination is also still awaiting the results of a study from the halal aspect by the Institute for the Assessment of Food, Medicine and Cosmetics, the Indonesian Ulema Council (LPPOM MUI).

"The government is also continuing to prepare various vaccinations for procurement, both AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Novavax, and GAVI," said Airlangga.

Even though the vaccination plan is in sight, Airlangga asked the public to prioritize 3M health protocol discipline, namely wearing masks, maintaining distance, washing hands, and also avoiding crowds.

"Even though we have prepared vaccinations, before and after that, there must still be an increase in the discipline of health protocols," said Airlangga.

"Vaccination can increase public confidence, but one must not forget about discipline. With vaccination, discipline is still necessary because COVID-19 is still there. So, this global pandemic is not over," he concluded.