COVID-19 Vaccination In 2024 Paid, Only Elderly, Comorbid To Health Workers Free

Illustration of COVID-19 vaccination. (Between)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) ensures that COVID-19 vaccination remains free for vulnerable groups starting January 1, 2024.

"Later on, there will be two groups that will be targeted by the COVID-19 program immunization and get free COVID-19 immunizations," said Director General of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health Maxi Rein Rondonuwu in his statement, Sunday, December 31, quoted by Antara.

Maxi explained that the first group to receive free COVID-19 vaccinations was those who had never received the COVID-19 vaccine at all.

While the second group is those who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Both the first group and the second group, said Maxi, were devoted to the elderly (elderly), elderly with comorbidities, adults with comorbidities, health workers (nakes) who served at the forefront.

In addition, the program also targets groups of pregnant women, adolescents aged 12 years and over, and other age groups with immunocompromised conditions or people who experience moderate to severe immune system disorders.

Maxi said the policy was contained in the Minister of Health Regulation (PMK) Number HK.01.07/MENKES/2193/2023 concerning the Immunization of the COVID-19 Program.

He said one of the considerations of this provision was that COVID-19 cases were increasingly under control in the country, so that protection efforts through vaccination were increasingly focused on vulnerable groups who still had a high risk of death.

"The immunization of COVID-19 is included in the routine effective immunization program starting January 1, 2024 throughout Indonesia," he said.

For people who are not included in these criteria, said Maxi, immunization of COVID-19 is an immunization of options that can be accessed independently or paid for.

The Director General of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices of the Ministry of Health Rizka Andalucia ensured that independent vaccines could be obtained in all health service facilities that provide COVID-19 vaccination services.

This is stated in the Circular Letter of the Director General of Health Farmalkes HK.02.02/E/2571/2023 regarding the Provision of Vaccines for the Implementation of the Choice of COVID-19 Vaccination.

"The COVID-19 vaccine used for immunization of choice must be licensed by BPOM and obtained from the official distributor appointed by the producer," he said.

Rizka said, for recording and reporting the provision of COVID-19 vaccination, both program immunization and immunization of choice must be carried out in an integrated immunization recording and reporting system with the national health information system, in this case Satu Sehat.