Puan Maharani Asks The Government To Prioritize Covid-19 Vaccines For The Poor

House Speaker Puan Maharani / Istimewa

JAKARTA - Chairman of the People's Representative Council (DPR) Puan Maharani asked the government to pay more attention to disadvantaged groups of people. According to Puan, this group should be a priority for vaccine recipients if the government later implements the vaccination process.

"The government must really consider which community groups are important to first be given the COVID-19 vaccine," said Puan in a written statement quoted on Monday, October 26.

Puan also asked the government to consider the issue of cost. In administering this vaccine, there are two schemes that will be regulated by the government, namely the provision of free and paid or independent vaccinations.

According to the Chairperson of the PDIP DPP, the issue of cost must be further considered. So, all parties can access vaccines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. "Costs must be considered, so that they should not be a barrier for people to access the Covid-19 vaccine," he said.

The government, continued Puan, must continue to socialize the COVID-19 vaccine. In carrying out this socialization, he asked the government to involve doctors to community leaders.

This massive outreach, he continued, needs to be done so that people understand the importance of vaccination and understand if the COVID-19 vaccine provided by the government is safe for injection. In addition, this socialization was also carried out in order to prevent rejection from the community.

"Involve doctors, health experts, community leaders, and all elements of society in the socialization. Don't assume that everyone will immediately understand and agree to be vaccinated," he said.

Meanwhile, regarding the vaccination procedure, he asked the government to ensure that the vaccine was made in accordance with scientific principles. He reminded that in the process of providing it, the government should not be careless at all, including the halal status of vaccine products.

He also stressed the need for Indonesia to produce its own vaccines. Given that, so far, the COVID-19 vaccine that the Indonesian government will use comes from other countries, not domestic production. "We appreciate the work of the government which has succeeded in cooperating with various countries in procuring vaccines. However, we ourselves must be able to produce enough at home so that every Indonesian citizen can receive vaccines," he said.

Previously, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had asked his ranks of ministers to prepare regulations regarding the cost of the COVID-19 vaccine for independent recipients. The cost of this vaccine, he said, must be ensured that it is not too high so that it can be affordable by the public.

"The imposition of the cost of vaccination independently must be carefully calculated and calculated, the rules are prepared from the start and I ask that the price be affordable," he said when opening a limited meeting on the plan for the procurement and implementation of vaccinations to be held at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Monday, 26 October.

Not only that, Jokowi also emphasized that the vaccines to be given to the public must ensure their safety and effectiveness and must not subordinate scientific principles to health data.

"Safety means that if an injection is taken, it really has to go through a correct clinical trial stage. If not, if there is one problem, it could lead to public distrust of this vaccination effort because I see that the safety aspect of vaccines is the main concern of the community, including experts and researchers. "he said.

"Be careful not to rush to vaccinate so that scientific principles and health data are secondary. We can't. Don't think the government is rushing, rushing without following the existing scientific corridors," added the former Governor of DKI Jakarta.