Day: August 7, 2021

Pekanbaru (ANTARA) – The Pekanbaru city government in Riau Province’ received the Moderna vaccine for administration to 13,246 health workers as a third dose or booster shot.

Pekanbaru Mayor Firdaus stated that the booster vaccine was expected to protect health workers and boost antibodies while serving as the frontliners in handling COVID-19.

“This Moderna vaccine is limited to health workers. We had started the third dose of vaccination on August 3, and we will inject it gradually to our health workers,” Firdaus noted on Saturday.

Indonesia received three million doses of the Moderna vaccine as a booster vaccination for health workers on July 11, 2021, from the United States through the COVAX facility.

Meanwhile, the government also received additional doses of the Sinovac vaccine. The vaccination program with Sinovac vaccine will be conducted soon for the public that had yet to receive the second dose of COVID-19 vaccination.

“The number of vaccines in each region is distributed by the Riau provincial government. The governor is given the authority to regulate it,” Firdaus noted.

The Riau provincial government had regulated the quantity of vaccines and the delivery process to be sent out to 12 cities and districts.

“The number is determined by the Riau provincial government. Meanwhile, Pekanbaru needs more vaccines,” Firdaus added.

Riau Governor Syamsuar had earlier urged every district and city in his territory to exercise patience while awaiting the arrival of the vaccine from Jakarta, and the quantity was adjusted according to the requirement.

Vaccination will be opened at several places to avoid crowding of people.

“The public showed high interest in vaccination, so we will open vaccination centers at several places to avoid crowding,” Syamsuar noted.

Source: ANTARA News

Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) – Tangerang City, Banten has begun administering Moderna’ vaccine as the third or booster dose to healthcare workers and plans to cover 10,238 health workers under the program.

“Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the third dose of vaccination can already be given to healthcare workers. Hopefully, it can be completed in the next one to two weeks,” Tangerang Mayor Arief R Wismansyah said after observing the vaccination for healthcare workers at the Tangerang City Health Office, here on Saturday.

The third dose is being provided to health workers to increase vaccine efficacy and prevent COVID-19 transmission among them as they are serving at the frontlines amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

“Hopefully, this booster vaccine can reduce the risk of exposure to health workers who provide services to the residents,” he remarked.

The city administration has received a total of 841 vials of the Moderna vaccine to administer the booster doses, the mayor informed adding, each vial can be used for about 13-14 people.

As of August 5, 2021, the number of residents who had been fully vaccinated or had received two vaccine doses in the city had reached 326,454, barring 13,477 health personnel and 128,753 public service officers, spokesperson for the Tangerang City government, Buceu Gartin, said.

“Hopefully, this booster vaccine can reduce the risk of exposure to health workers who provide services to the residents,” he remarked.

The city administration has received a total of 841 vials of the Moderna vaccine to administer the booster doses, the mayor informed adding, each vial can be used for about 13-14 people.

As of August 5, 2021, the number of residents who had been fully vaccinated or had received two vaccine doses in the city had reached 326,454, barring 13,477 health personnel and 128,753 public service officers, spokesperson for the Tangerang City government, Buceu Gartin, said.

Source: ANTARA News

Jakarta (ANTARA) – COVID-19 patients experiencing shortness of breath can check their respiration rate to determine their oxygen saturation levels if they do not own a pulse oximeter, an official has said.

“Record the temperature and oxygen saturation if you have an oximeter, otherwise you can count your breaths,” Health Ministry’s COVID-19 vaccination spokesperson, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, advised during a health webinar here on Saturday.

A patient is said to be short of breath when his or her respiration rate is above 24 breaths per minute, she informed. The normal respiration rate is in the range of 16-20 breaths per minute, she added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States, has reported that about 31-40 percent of COVID-19 patients experience shortness of breath, Tarmizi said. Patients may have difficulty breathing and end up panting, she added.

During Saturday’s webinar, head of the emergency department (ED) of Prikasih Hospital, Dr. Gia Pratama, affirmed that patients with low oxygen saturation may complain their chest is feeling too tight to fully inhale or exhale.

Each short breath alone requires greater effort and leaves patients panting, he said. It feels like breathing through a straw, he added.

“The capacity of the lungs (in normal adults) is good and large as they can load liters of incoming air. However, with COVID-19 patients’ lungs, just after a few hundred milliliters (of air), they already need more breath, hence, the breath count increases. When the inhaling breaths are above 24 times per minute, they must check their lungs,” Pratama said.

Meanwhile, patients who have a pulse oximeter must make sure their oxygen saturation is not less than 94 percent, he advised. Normally, oxygen saturation in the range of 95-100 percent indicates the body’s organs such as the lungs, heart, and circulatory system are working well, he expounded.

An oximeter can help patients check how much oxygen is in their blood, he said. It is a small, pocket-size device with sensors that use light to detect oxygen levels, he explained.

When their oxygen saturation drops below 94 percent, symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 patients in self-isolation should immediately seek treatment in health facilities, he said.

Source: ANTARA News

Malang, East Java (ANTARA) – The government of Malang city, East Java, in collaboration with the Fleet Command (Koarmada) II, on Saturday launched a two-day mass vaccination program targeting 30 thousand residents to contain COVID-19 spread.

Vaccinations will be carried out from August 7 to August 8, 2021 at the Gajayana Stadium, Malang City under the program, Commander of the Fleet Command II, Admiral Iwan Isnurwanto, informed here on Saturday.

“The planned target is to enrol 20 thousand vaccine recipients through online registration. However, we are also preparing 10 thousand vaccines for those who do not get to register online. So, it is hoped that 30 thousand people will be vaccinated during the two days of vaccination,” he stated.

He said he hoped that through the vaccination program, the East Java provincial government’s target to inoculate 70 percent of the population to create herd immunity would be achieved in August this year.

“Achieving community immunity for the people of East Java, especially Malang residents, is very important to protect the people from COVID-19 transmission,” Isnurwanto remarked.

He urged all people participating in the vaccination program to continue to obey the health protocols to minimize the risk of contracting the deadly infection.

Meanwhile, Malang Mayor Sutiaji said that his administration is hoping to minimize crowding during the vaccination program through online registrations and regulating the flow of participants.

“In the future, if I am assigned to do this (vaccination) again, we will develop a better system. Hopefully, later we can perfect it as best we can,” he added.

To boost citizens’ immune response against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, with President Joko Widodo becoming the nation’s first vaccine recipient.

According to a Health Ministry report, 49,964,745 people in Indonesia have received the first vaccine dose as of August 7, 2021, while 23,528,130 people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Source: ANTARA News