COVID-19 Vaccine In Kudus-Yogyakarta Expires, Ministry Of Health Asks Local Government To Carefully Manage

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JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) has asked local governments (local governments) to be careful in managing the stock of COVID-19 vaccines to prevent the discovery of expired vaccines.

"We have received reports from several regions, such as Kudus and Yogyakarta, some have expired, some are close to expiry," said the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 Vaccination Spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Sunday, November 7.

However, for the exact number, Nadia has not received complete information from the region. "We expect districts or cities to be more careful in managing vaccines, meaning those that expire close to be used and distributed first," he said.

Nadia also asked the local government to map the injection capacity and vaccination targets. "So it can prevent the remaining and expired vaccines, especially considering that there are still many districts or cities that have not reached the target," he said.

In addition, Nadia appealed to the public not to be picky about the brand of the COVID-19 vaccine. "The existing vaccine is the vaccine that will provide protection to us and will also end this pandemic," he said.

The reasons for the expired vaccine, he said, were the speed of injection and the strategy. While the evaluation of expired vaccines is the responsibility of each local government. Government Spokesperson for Handling COVID-19 Wiku Adisasmito asked local governments not to delay the COVID-19 vaccination process.

He asked that the findings of 4,000 doses of Astrazeneca vaccine in Kudus Regency, Central Java, which expire on October 29, 2021, serve as lessons for all elements in the health system.

"Both the central government, provincial regions and city districts, should not delay the vaccination process," he said at a press conference, Thursday, November 4.

Wiku also asked the public to be proactive in visiting vaccination sites because the COVID-19 vaccine is very valuable to protect the community.

"Remember that access to vaccines is not easy for us to get, so it must be highly valued and used optimally," said Wiku.