Finally, Jokowi Answered The PB IDI Challenge As The Recipient Of The First Vaccine

President Jokowi (Photo: BPMI Setpres / Muchlis Jr)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has stated that he is willing to be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Jokowi's statement seemed to answer the challenge of the Executive Board of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) which ensures that doctors are ready to be vaccinated as long as President Jokowi is willing to be the first to be vaccinated.

Some time ago, Chairman of PB IDI Daeng M Faqih clarified the news that said his party refused to administer vaccines. He said, IDI member doctors did not refuse but were ready to become the first target for COVID-19 vaccination if Jokowi was given the first injection.

"If the President says that he is ready to be the first part of the injection, IDI is also willing to be one of the first to be injected," said Daeng as quoted by Antara.

In addition, Daeng said, IDI certainly supports the vaccination program that will be implemented by the government to control the transmission of COVID-19 in Indonesia. However, the vaccines given must first obtain permission from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) to ensure their safety.

Not long after, President Jokowi announced that he was ready to receive the first vaccine. He did this so that all people in the country believe in the safety of the vaccines that will be given.

"Later, I will be the first recipient, being vaccinated for the first time to give people confidence and confidence that vaccines are safe to use," Jokowi said in a video statement uploaded to the Presidential Secretariat YouTube account, Wednesday, December 16.

Not only that, the former Governor of DKI Jakarta also answered the public's complaints regarding the independent vaccine scheme which requires everyone to spend before getting vaccinated. Jokowi said that after listening to public complaints and recalculating state finances, the government decided vaccines would be free.

With the free cost of vaccines, in the future, there will be no more reasons for people to vaccinate.

"So after receiving input from the public and after recalculating, doing a recalculation of state finances, I can say that the COVID-19 vaccine for the public is free. There is no charge at all," he said.

It is known that the Indonesian government has prepared two schemes for the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination, namely the government program scheme and the independent scheme. For the procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine, the government program scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) and the independent scheme is implemented by the Ministry of BUMN. Of the immunization coverage target of 107 million people, 75 million are for the independent scheme target group, while 32 million are for the government program scheme.

Vaccination targets for government schemes are health workers in all health facilities, essential public servants and vulnerable groups of people. Meanwhile, for the independent scheme, other economic actors include BPJS participants, non-BPJS / other insurance, and public / private participants.

Meanwhile, based on the Decree of the Minister of Health Number 9860/2020, the types of vaccines in Indonesia have determined six types of COVID-19 vaccines that can be used, namely Bio Farma, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer / Biotech, and Sinovac.

There is also a vaccine that currently exists in Indonesia, which comes from a Chinese pharmaceutical company, Sinovac. This vaccine arrived in Indonesia on 6 December.

However, the vaccine cannot be used because it is still waiting for phase III clinical trials and an emergency use permit from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM).