Jokowi Asks His Staff To Prepare A COVID-19 Vaccination Plan In Two Weeks

Illustrations / DOK.VOI

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery to regulate the injection of the COVID-19 vaccine to the public as soon as possible. Jokowi asked his staff to report the details of the vaccine plan within two weeks.

"I ask for the vaccination plan, the vaccine injection plan is planned in detail as early as possible. I ask for a detailed planning within two weeks," Jokowi said when opening a limited meeting with the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery which was posted on his account. YouTube Presidential Secretariat, Monday, 28 September.

The preparations that Jokowi meant were regarding the commencement of vaccine administration, the location of the vaccine administration, the vaccinator officer, and who received the first vaccine.

"Everything must be well planned. So that when the vaccine is there, it is just the implementation of the implementation in the field," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the problem of domestic economic recovery in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jokowi will ask for a direct report from the committee he has formed.

Previously, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and PEN Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan asked Bio Farma as a national pharmaceutical producer to accelerate the production of the COVID-19 vaccine. One of the options proposed to accelerate drug production is Remdesivir.

"Efforts must be made to immediately produce domestically. We will look for the materials later, so there are no obstacles," said Luhut who is also Deputy Chair of the Committee on Policy for Control of COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, Sunday, September 27.

In his written statement, Luhut also asked Bio Farma as a national pharmaceutical producer to immediately take quick and precise steps so that raw materials for national production can be implemented immediately, in the national interest.

"The strategy is for emergency and national interests. We have to be quick and not too rigid because this is for humanity," said Luhut.

Meanwhile, TNI Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said that his party supports the COVID-19 Handling Task Force's steps in distributing medical equipment and COVID-19 vaccines throughout Indonesia. This was conveyed when he received a visit from the Head of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Doni Monardo.

According to Hadi, all of his soldiers have been prepared in an effort to support humanitarian operations aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

"Since the beginning of handling COVID-19, the TNI has supported all steps taken by the government to control the spread of the corona virus. I have met with leaders from all forces in many regions to ask everyone to be ready to continue humanitarian operations, including when they have to distribute vaccines to all regions, "said Hadi in his written statement, Sunday, September 27.

He said that all fleets owned by the Indonesian Air Force and Navy would be ready to be used in distributing health logistics throughout the country. In addition, all of his soldiers are also ready for various tasks to be undertaken in the midst of this pandemic.

This vaccine development cooperation is carried out through state-owned companies. For example, PT Bio Farma (Persero) is conducting the third phase of the COVID-19 vaccine trial. The state-owned pharmaceutical company is working with Chinese vaccine manufacturer Sinovac in vaccine development.

Until 2021, Sinovac is committed to supplying 210 million doses of vaccine raw material to Biofarma. Arya said, Biofarma stated that it could produce 350 million doses in 2021. Then, PT Kimia Farma Tbk and PT Indofarma Tbk (Persero) with a health technology company from the United Arab Emirates, G42.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) -based UAE healthcare companies to bring in as many as 10 million vaccine products by year's end.

Other collaborations are also being explored with Genexine, CanSino, and AstraZeneca, the government is exploring partnerships with other pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Novafax. Added to this is a multilateral cooperation mechanism with Unicef within the CORVAX Facility in the form of guarantees for the speed, availability and delivery of vaccines.