JAKARTA - The government is committed to providing free COVID-19 vaccinations to all Indonesians. However, now there is a mutual cooperation vaccine. Then what's the difference?
The Gotong Royong vaccine emerged from a proposal from the business community through the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) who wanted to help with government programs, starting May 18, 2021. The government's vaccination program and the Gotong Royong vaccination have the same principle, which is not to impose costs on the target target.
The source of financing for the procurement of this vaccine is different, the Gotong Royong vaccine comes from independent funding from companies that want to provide free vaccinations to their employees. dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi, M.Epid., Spokesperson for Vaccination of the Ministry of Health, said that the source of funding for the Gotong Royong vaccination comes from companies or business entities, so there should be no financing burden on vaccine recipients or employees. "The aim is to increase and accelerate the coverage of this COVID-19 vaccination," he said in a Productive Dialogue themed Ready to Protect Indonesia with Mutual Cooperation Vaccines organized by KPCPEN and broadcast by FMB9ID_IKP, Wednesday, June 16.
In addition to different sources of financing, based on Permenkes No. 18 of 2021, the use of the Gotong Royong vaccine brand and government program vaccines must also be different. “The vaccines used in the government vaccination program and the Gotong Royong vaccine cannot be of the same type and brand. Sinovac, AstraZeneca, Novavac, and Pfizer vaccines are not used for the Gotong Royong program. However, the Permenkes explains that vaccines obtained from grants with the same brand as the Gotong Royong program can be used for vaccination of government programs," explained dr. Nadia.
dr. Nadia gave an example, the Sinopharm vaccine in the amount of 500 thousand doses that came from a grant from the United Arab Emirates some time ago could be used for the Gotong Royong vaccine.
"Although the Sinopharm vaccine is used for Mutual Cooperation, but because it comes from a grant, the vaccine can be used for
government vaccine program. Later that will be used for the Gotong Royong program are Sinopharm and Cansino. This will not interfere with each other's vaccine stocks for each program," explained dr. Nadia.
“The Gotong Royong vaccine itself is very beneficial for KADIN members. With the participation of KADIN members, expanding vaccination coverage for Indonesian workers, workers can return to production,” added Prof. dr. Hasbullah Thabrany, MPH, DrPH, Chairman of the Indonesia Health Economic Association.
Indeed, what KADIN and Indonesian entrepreneurs are trying to do to vaccinate Indonesian workers is a complement to accelerate the coverage of herd immunity. In addition, the government's policy in this case Permenkes No. 18 of 2021, is considered appropriate in order to avoid the politicization of the Gotong Royong vaccine and government program vaccines by irresponsible people.
“The main challenge at this time for the Gotong Royong vaccine is to meet the demand from 28 thousand companies that have registered through KADIN. The current government directive is to allocate the first batch of vaccines for the manufacturing sector in the Greater Jakarta area,” explained Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, Deputy Chairperson of KADIN for International Relations.
KADIN also appeals to companies that have registered to be patient, because the supply of vaccines for the Gotong Royong vaccination program is coming in stages. Bio Farma itself has a commitment of around 15 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine to make this program a success.
"In addition, the public and companies need to know that the Gotong Royong vaccine program is not mandatory. All people can get free vaccines from the government, so if you don't have the ability to participate in the Gotong Royong vaccine, it is highly recommended to take part in the government's vaccination program," concluded Shinta.
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