Vaccine Stocks Are Decreasing Due To Embargo, The House Of Representatives: If It Is Out Of Stock, How Do We Continue The Vaccinations?

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), Netty Prasetiyani Aher asked the government to immediately take tactical steps to ensure adequate national vaccine availability. Following the decline in the number of vaccines induced by the AstraZeneca embargo by the Indian government. Where this country will not send the AstraZeneca vaccine to WHO and GAVI.

"If the government is slow, it will be difficult for us to achieve the goal of herd immunity", Netty told reporters, Wednesday, April 7.

According to Netty, if the Indian factory does not allow the delivery of vaccines, the Indonesian government will have to negotiate with other AstraZeneca factories. Like the factory in Thailand.

The deputy chairman of the PKS Party Faction is worried that Indonesia will not be able to achieve the target of 1 million injection doses per day because of experiencing empty vaccine stocks following the embargo.

"If our vaccine is empty, then the vaccination process cannot be continued. Certainly, this will have an impact on vaccination being not completed within 15 months as targeted by the government", she said.

Not to mention, said Netty, the potential for empty vaccine stocks will also spread to other things. For example, the implementation of the Face-to-Face Learning (PTM) policy, which will be held simultaneously in July.

"Then what about the PTM discourse in July? Can all teachers be guaranteed to be vaccinated? Especially when vaccine stocks are still there, vaccination for educators is still running slowly", she explained.

Therefore, the Chairperson of the COVID-19 Team from the PKS Party Faction reminded the Indonesian government to continue to encourage the birth of a common attitude at the global level regarding justice in accessing vaccines. Developed countries that have adequate technology do not monopolize vaccines, she said.

"This embargo incident must also be an awareness of the government in accelerating the development of national vaccines such as the Red and White and Indonesian vaccines",

"If we are able to be independent in vaccine production, we will not only meet domestic vaccine needs but can also help other countries", she emphasized.

Previously, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated that the COVID-19 vaccination would increase again in May 2021 due to the mass production of vaccines from Bio Farma.

Meanwhile, PT Bio Farma confirmed that as many as 30 million doses of vaccine in the bulk form will arrive this April.

"Until now, how many Sinovac bulks can be processed? What is the production capacity of Bio Farma? We need to accelerate so that the production of domestic COVID-19 vaccines can be even more. Don't let us bring in so many Sinovac bulks (140 million doses), but our production capability is low, it will be useless", she said.