Member Of Parliament: Vaccine Distribution That Is Not Smooth Is There, When You Come To The Province, First Park There

Screenshot of DPR RI Commission IX Member Nabil Haroen (Photo: Hreeloita Dharma Shanti/Antara)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the DPR RI Nabil Haroen said the uneven supply of vaccines in several areas was caused by distribution which often stopped at the provincial health office.

"There is indeed a non-current distribution, including in the provincial health office. So when the vaccine comes to the province, park there first. Later, the district/city office will need another process," Nabil said in a webinar related to access to vaccines "Launch of the Latest Policy Paper: Cooperating Against the Pandemic" online in Jakarta, reported by Antara, Thursday, September 2.

He said many health workers (nakes) at the district/city health offices complained about the supply of vaccines that could not be immediately received by their side, because the distribution took a long time, around three days to one week.

“We have also heard the request from friends of the district/city health office, how can the vaccine supply be directly to them. So it doesn't go through the province, this is what we need to think about together," he said.

He revealed that the health offices in several areas, such as the health offices of Surakarta and Boyolali, had difficulties because the date of receiving the vaccine was different from the date stated in the assignment letter.

"Don't be long. I have found examples in the Surakarta and Boyolali Health Offices that they have difficulty. Even though the letter is there, it was received on that date but until now it has not been received. Even though the routine vaccinations are still being carried out, yes," said Nabil.

Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) researcher Andree Surianta said the achievement of community immunity (herd immunity) could not occur if the speed of distribution and administration of vaccines in each region differed too much.

“The results of this latest research after three months have indeed decreased. So many say that the entire world's population wants to achieve herd immunity, they should reach that threshold together. The speed can't be too much different," said Andree.

He said this needs to get more attention given the antibodies that come from vaccines can fade after six to nine months and will not last forever.

Andree explained that population immunity would be difficult to achieve, if the vaccination process was only given one way. So there needs to be a change in the government's paradigm in order to create a defense strategy to overcome the problem of vaccine distribution.

"We have to see that it's not just a matter of speed, but we have to defend. Like a leaking bucket, if we fill it with continuous vaccinations, we can fill it up as quickly as possible. But if we don't fill it continuously, the immunity will go down and disappear," he said.