West Manggarai Regency Government Prepares Sanctions For People Who Refuse Vaccine: Delayed Social Assistance Until Administrative Services Stop

Photo by Hakan Nural on Unsplash

JAKARTA - A strong warning to all residents of West Manggarai who should have been vaccinated but refused. Get ready because there has been an instruction from the West Manggarai Regent which includes administrative sanctions for this group.

"Sanctions will be given to people who have registered as targets for vaccination but do not want to be vaccinated, not because of medical indications," said Deputy Regent (Wabup) of West Manggarai Yulianus Weng in Labuan Bajo, Friday, October 29, quoted from Antara.

In the West Manggarai Regent's Instruction letter, West Manggarai Regent Edistasius Endi obliges people who have been designated as the target recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine to take part in the COVID-19 vaccination. This rule does not apply to target recipients who do not meet the criteria for vaccine recipients based on the results of screening by a team or competent and appointed medical officer.

Based on the provisions of Article 13A paragraph (4) of Presidential Regulation Number 14 of 2021 concerning Amendments to Presidential Regulation Number 99 of 2020 concerning Vaccine Procurement and Vaccination Implementation in the context of Combating the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic, everyone who has been designated as a target COVID-19 vaccine recipients who do not follow the COVID-19 vaccination will be given administrative sanctions in the form of delaying or stopping the provision of social security or social assistance from the government.

Furthermore, there is a delay or termination of government administrative services in the form of population administration at the Civil Registry and Population Service, as well as licensing services organized by the Integrated Investment and Licensing Service; new school enrollment services for prospective elementary and junior high school students for parents/guardians of students who have not participated in the minimum vaccination of the first dose of vaccination; as well as the service of recommendation letters/information on other related sectors. In addition, there are also fines given to targets who do not want to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

These sanctions are given by the leadership of the Regional Apparatus Organization to residents when/in managing various documents/official letters related to government administration where the sanctions are given based on reports on the results of the vaccination implementation from the responsible technical agency and if the community cannot show evidence of having participated in the COVID-19 vaccination, such as photocopies of vaccination certificates and/or COVID-19 vaccination cards.

Deputy Regent Weng explained that the instructions had been distributed to villages, and were even read out at the same time as the vaccination. He said the instructions made people who previously did not want to receive vaccines to open themselves up to receive COVID-19 vaccination services.

"We are happy because from the results of monitoring since the instructions were issued, no one has been penalized, everyone has participated in the vaccination," said Deputy Regent Weng.

In the instruction, the regent also ordered the West Manggarai District Health Office as the technical agency responsible for administering vaccinations with all health centers in the West Manggarai area to take steps to accelerate the implementation of vaccines in the field while still coordinating with other technical agencies including the National Armed Force (TNI) and National Police (Polri).

Regent Edi also ordered sub-district heads, and village heads to carry out monitoring and data collection for people in their respective areas who have not received vaccination services and to coordinate with local health centers/pustu to support the acceleration of vaccination and deliver information to the community in their respective areas.

This instruction from the West Manggarai Regent of East Nusa Tenggara Province was issued on October 21, 2021, under the number COVID-19/282/X/2021 regarding the Implementation of Vaccination for Community Residents Domiciled in the West Manggarai Regency in the context of Combating the COVID-19 Pandemic in West Manggarai Regency.