500 Thousand Health Workers Have Been Injected With The First Phase Of Vaccine, Ministry Of Health: A Form Of Optimism And Trust

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) Oscar Primadi said that currently 500 thousand health workers (Nakes) have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since last January.

"Today, since last January we have been injecting health workers as our priority. Until today, 500 thousand health workers have been injected. This means that from the 1.5 million we are targeting", Oscar said in a press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account, Tuesday, February 2.

In line with Oscar, Spokesperson for COVID-19 Vaccination from the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, also stated that 500 thousand health workers had been vaccinated and this figure shows enthusiasm and optimism for the safety and benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Vaccination is very important and has benefits that far outweigh the risks", she said.

Nadia also explained, based on the report of the National Commission on Post-Immunization Events to date, there have been no serious reactions experienced by those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. "Currently all reactions are still mild and nothing serious", she said.

Furthermore, this figure also adds to optimism for the government if the target to inject is 1.5 million health workers will be realized by the end of this month.

Next, the government will provide the next stage of vaccination to public service officers. At this stage, the government will use the COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac which just arrived in Indonesia today.

"The 10 million doses we received today are planned to be used to carry out the second phase of vaccination for public service officers, providing protection for 17.4 public service officers who also work in areas exposed to COVID-19", she explained.

She said the vaccines that are given for 1.5 million health workers and 17.4 public service workers were part of the 181.5 million people who were the targets of COVID-19 vaccination. This is done to form an immunity group in the community to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

"When the immunity group to COVID-19 has been established, members of the community who cannot receive the vaccine due to their limited health conditions will be protected", said Nadia.

However, she still asked the public to follow the recommended health protocols. This is essential for herd immunity.

"We continue to appeal to the public to remain disciplined in carrying out good health protocols for those who have or have not been vaccinated. Because the health protocols will protect ourselves and those around us and our loved ones from COVID-19. Don't let your guard down", she said.

It is known that the government plans to vaccinate 181.5 million people to achieve communal immunity against COVID-19.

The first batch of vaccinations will be carried out from January to April 2021 with the target of 1.3 million health workers in 34 provinces, 17.4 million public officers, and 21.5 million elderly citizens.

The second batch of vaccinations will be carried out from April 2021 to March 2022 with a target of 63.9 million people in areas with a high risk of transmission and 77.4 million other community members using a cluster approach according to vaccine availability.

The government has confirmed orders for 329.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from several vaccine manufacturers, including Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac; US-Canadian vaccine manufacturer Novavax; British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca; and the German and US pharmaceutical company Pfizer BioNTech.