New Ministry Of Health Allows Vaccination Of Citizens 18 Years Old And Over In DKI, Task Force Talks Priority Scale

AMONG

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) has begun to allow DKI Jakarta Province to vaccinate people aged 18 years and over in general.

Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, said that the reason the central government only allowed DKI Jakarta to hold this new stage of vaccination was because the capital city is a priority area with high COVID-19 transmission.

"We have priorities. We want to make sure the priorities are achieved first because those priorities are people who are at risk," Wiku said in a virtual press conference, Wednesday, June 9.

Wiku said that the government would strive to achieve 70 percent of the total vaccination coverage for all Indonesians.

The government has also prepared a schedule based on the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"Obviously those over the age of 18 are one of the community groups that are targeted by the government and we will definitely vaccinate them according to the priorities of these groups," he explained.

For information, the Ministry of Health has given the green light for the DKI Provincial Government to vaccinate against COVID-19 for residents aged 18 years and over in general.

This is stated in a letter from the Ministry of Health with the number SR.02.04/II/1496/2021 signed by the Acting Head of the Health PPSDM Agency of the Ministry of Health, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu.

"The DKI Jakarta Province can expand the target for COVID-19 vaccination to all residents aged 18 years and over," said Maxi, quoted in the letter.

Vaccination for residents 18 years and over using the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, at this time, the vaccination still prioritizes vulnerable groups that are included in stage 1, 2, and 3 vaccinations.

They are health workers, public service officers, the elderly, slum residents, residents in the COVID-19 red zone, and people with mental disorders who have not been vaccinated.

There is a reason why the Ministry of Health has allowed Jakarta to carry out vaccinations for people 18 years and over in general. Based on data on the development of COVID-19, the percentage of active cases in DKI during one week was 7.62 percent.

"This shows that the transmission of disease transmission in the DKI Jakarta province is still quite high," said Maxi.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination in the Capital City has entered the third phase, targeting vulnerable communities. However, its implementation is still limited because it only targets residents who live in slum areas.

"DKI Jakarta Province is the nation's capital, where it is the center of government and national economic growth. So it is important to immediately suppress and control COVID-19 cases. One of them is by achieving herd immunity through the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination with high and equitable coverage," he explained.