COVID-19 Vaccination Becomes A Routine Government Program During Endemic

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health ensures that the COVID-19 vaccination program continues during the endemic period through integration into routine government programs as a long-term mitigation effort.

"This policy is part of the revocation of public health emergency status in Indonesia which will soon be revoked by President Joko Widodo," said Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, June 13.

Nadia said the regulation that would later be revoked by the President was Presidential Decree No. 11 of 2020 concerning the Determination of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

The political provisions in efforts to control COVID-19 in the country were previously followed by the Implementation of Community Activity Restrictions (PPKM) which officially ended as of December 31, 2022, to the financing component for vaccinations and treatment of COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

"Vaccines are part of the defense process. Later, health protocols will be released slowly, the vaccination requirements will be released as facultative," he said.

According to Nadia, the current COVID-19 vaccination has become a new provision in Indonesia, including other countries that still require foreign travelers, one of which is for Umrah pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

For this reason, the Ministry of Health ensures that the supply of the COVID-19 vaccine will be carried out for a long time to meet the needs of its users.

According to Nadia, the COVID-19 vaccination has proven to provide protection for beneficiaries of severe symptoms who require medical treatment in hospitals.

"We see that America, Europe has opened vaccines with such vaccination coverage. There are also no significant incidents of severe fatality," he said.

According to Nadia, the revocation of health emergency status in Indonesia does not mean that the Corona Virus is gone, but the understanding of the policy that COVID-19 can already be overcome by the existing health system.

Nadia said that until now there are still around 4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the majority of which are purchased from domestic producers. A total of 100 thousand other doses are imported, such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer.