Month: November 2021

Jakarta will include schools as COVID-19 vaccination sites for children in the 6–11 age group, an official has informed.

“Schools are one of the potential places to provide vaccination services to children aged 6–11 years,” head of disease prevention and control at the Jakarta Health Office, Dwi Oktavia, said at a children’s vaccination seminar here on Tuesday.

Schools in Jakarta already have a good, cooperative relationship with the public health center as organizers of COVID-19 vaccinations, she noted.

This coordination was optimally fostered through the launch of the students’ immunization month, she said.

The decision to use schools as COVID-19 vaccination sites was based on ease of access, availability of open space facilities, and teacher readiness, among others, Oktavia said.

“We urge parents to not hesitate to vaccinate their children at school because they (will be) served well like in health facilities,” she added.

She said her administration is still awaiting technical guidance from the Health Ministry regarding COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 6–11.

“We certainly hope that COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 6–11 years old can be conducted immediately, but, of course, the central government is still preparing everything, (such as) the readiness of its personnel, (but) the most important thing is the availability of the vaccine,” she elaborated.

The Jakarta Health Office is targeting around 900 thousand children aged 6 to 11 years in the capital city.

It said it has conducted a comparison of target data with the Population and Civil Registry Office to determine the number of children who need to be vaccinated.

Source: Antara News

Protocols for the clinical trial of the Merah Putih vaccine, developed by Airlangga University (Unair), have entered their final stage, head of the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM), Penny K Lukito, has informed.

“BPOM has assisted the pre-clinical test and the vaccine will soon enter clinical trials,” she said during a focus group discussion on the ‘Independence of Raw Materials for Medicine, Medicine, and Biological Products’ on Tuesday.

The strategy implemented by BPOM for supporting the indigenous development of domestic vaccines involved seeking assistance from many parties, including PT Biotis Pharmaceutical Indonesia, which will work with Unair in testing its vaccine on human subjects, Lukito added.

The protocol for the clinical trial of the Merah Putih vaccine must run according to the provisions, while ensuring the authenticity and validity of data so that the vaccine can be registered and cleared by BPOM for use.

Lukito said that BPOM has also been tasked with supporting the production facilities of the pharmaceutical industry. The goal is to have production facilities that meet the Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) standard or good drug production methods, she explained.

“This is to ensure that the production guarantees the quality, safety, and efficacy aspects (recorded) during research and clinical trials,” she said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed BPOM to use various strategies to accelerate innovation and regulate clinical trials in the country, Lukito said.

“What should have taken several years has been shortened while still prioritizing the aspects of quality, safety, and efficacy of pharmaceutical products,” she noted.

BPOM has also intensified communication with the World Health Organization (WHO) and foreign drug regulators so that domestically produced vaccines can fulfill international standards in terms of quality and efficacy, she added.

Source: Antara News

The Ministry of Health has urged local governments to expedite the coverage for basic immunization for toddlers and school-aged children.

Data as of October 2021 showed that the national basic immunization coverage had only reached 58.4 percent.

Acting Director-General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Health Ministry, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, drew attention to a gap between several provinces with basic immunization rate above 60 percent and other provinces with immunization rates that had not reached 60 percent.

“There is an immunization gap in several provinces. If we look at it, several provinces, such as Banten, deserve to be lauded since even during a pandemic, they are able to reach 78.8 percent, slightly higher than the national target,” Rondonuwu stated at an online press conference monitored here on Tuesday.

Other provinces with basic immunization coverage above 60 percent are South Sulawesi, Bengkulu, South Sumatra, Bali, Gorontalo, Lampung, Bangka Belitung, East Java, and Jambi.

“This achievement should be a lesson for other provinces to expedite their immunization coverage and meet the national standard,” he added.

Rondonuwu explained that the impact of low and uneven immunization coverage in several areas would lead to an accumulation of populations prone to diseases that could actually be prevented by immunization.

In a worst-case scenarios, there will be an extraordinary outbreak (KLB) of disease from virus or bacterial infections that causes diseases, such as diphtheria or measles and rubella.

Rondonuwu has encouraged each region in Indonesia to increase its immunization coverage since the national immunization program is also implemented by local governments, starting from the village or sub-district level and up to the districts and cities.

He noted that currently, outbreaks of diphtheria, measles, and rubella had emerged in several regions of Indonesia. The emergence of outbreaks of this long-lost disease was due to the decline in immunization coverage in 2020 and 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Antara News

The Communication and Informatics Ministry held discussions with players of the digital healthcare industry to optimize public health services through digital spaces and the potential of digital economy in Indonesia.

“The discussion aims to accommodate the inputs from industrial actors. Thus, the future policies issued by the government can support development of the industry, including the digital healthcare one,” Communication and Informatics Minister, Johnny G. Plate, stated here on Tuesday.

The discussion was held through the Digital Economy Forum implemented for the third time.

The forum was initiated by the Directorate of Digital Economy of Directorate General of Informatics Applications at the ministry as an official communication platform between the government and digital industry players to discuss, collaborate, and prepare anticipatory steps for development of the digital economy ecosystem.

In addition, developing the digital economy is one of the ministry’s attempts to make the most of the digital infrastructure built in Indonesia in accordance with the directives of President Joko Widodo.

Furthermore, the minister has noted that in 2021, Indonesia’s digital economy is estimated to grow to reach $70 billion, or equivalent to Rp1,000 trillion.

On account of the huge potential of the country’s digital ecosystem, Indonesia is projected to earn US$146 billion, or equivalent to Rp2,090 trillion, in 2025.

The huge figure will be obtained from various digital services that are currently developing.

“In addition to building extensive telecommunication infrastructure and optimizing THE digital space, we must advance development of the downstream sectors, such as the digital healthcare, to be utilized widely,” Plate stated.

The discussion was attended by 45 start-up companies that were developers in the digital healthcare industry.

In-depth discussions regarding the benefits of digital healthcare development on the economic and social aspects can offer insights to Indonesian people of the positive impacts of using health services in the digital space.

Source: Antara News

A vaccine certificate and a negative COVID-19 test result will be compulsory for domestic travel during the Christmas and New Year holidays, Head of Health Handling at the COVID-19 Task Force Alexander Ginting said.

“COVID-19 Task Force Circular Number 24 of 2021 regulates activities for the Christmas and New Year periods for domestic travel across city/district administrative border using private or public transportation,” he informed on Tuesday.

The PCR test should be taken 3×24 hours and the rapid antigen test 1×24 hours prior to departure, he said.

“Persons on long-distance personal trips from Java to Bali can use PCR or antigen test, and they must have received a vaccination,” he added.

All domestic travelers using private or public transportation will need to show a certificate showing they have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Ginting said.

The provisions are contained in the circular letter of the COVID-19 Task Force, which has been derived from the implementation of the Instruction of Home Affairs Minister (Inmendagri) No. 63 of 2021 concerning the Enforcement of Restrictions on Community Activities Level 3, Level 2, and Level 1 in the Java and Bali regions, he added.

As per the regulation, all districts/cities in Indonesia are required to form a COVID-19 Handling Task Force to maximize the surveillance of travelers during the year-end holidays, he said.

“The task force will not only (conduct surveillance) in public spaces, markets, and tourist attractions but also in urban villages, sub-districts, and districts,” Ginting informed.

Meanwhile, the regulation for odd-even vehicle plates will be implemented in agglomeration areas, provincial capitals, and tourist areas, according to the regulation from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In addition, the government will cap vehicle capacity at 50 percent for land, air, and sea transportation, Ginting noted.

However, different provisions will apply to drivers of logistics vehicles transporting essential and daily needs, he said.

“They are required to bring a complete dose of vaccine certificate and show a negative result of rapid antigen test, valid for 1×24 hours from the time the sample is taken,” he informed.

Logistics drivers transporting essential and daily needs, such as raw food materials, construction equipment, and fuel oil, and who have not been vaccinated will be obliged to show a negative antigen test result taken 1×24 hours prior to departure, Ginting added.

Source: Antara News

The latest regulation from the Saudi Arabian authorities requires Umrah pilgrims who have received a full dose of the Sinovac vaccine to undergo a three-day quarantine upon arrival in the Holy Land.

Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas made the remarks during a hearing meeting (RDP) with Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“Umrah pilgrims with a full dose of the Sinovac vaccine must undergo three-day quarantine upon their arrival,” Qoumas said.

Until now, Saudi Arabia only recognized four types of vaccines, namely Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson, he noted. Those who had received these vaccines could enter the country without having to quarantine first, he said.

Meanwhile, Umrah pilgrims who have received vaccines that are not recognized by Saudi Arabia but are recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) will be required to quarantine for three days, he informed. The majority of Indonesian pilgrims have received Sinovac shots, therefore, they will need to undergo quarantine, he said.

However, Saudi Arabia is allowing pilgrims who have received the Sinovac vaccine to skip quarantine if they have received vaccine boosters from among the four vaccine brands recognized by it, Qoumas said.

“Sinovac vaccine pilgrims are allowed to skip quarantine if they have received vaccine boosters from one of the four recognized vaccines at least 14 days before departure,” he added.

Saudi Arabia has announced it will lift the suspension of flights from Indonesia, starting December 1, 2021.

This means Indonesian citizens will be able to fly directly to Saudi Arabia without having to transit through a third country, said an official from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

“The circular issued by the Saudi Arabian aviation authority or the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), dated November 25, 2021, also applies to flights of Umrah pilgrims,” director general of Hajj and Umrah organization (PHU) at the Religious Affairs Ministry, Hilman Latief, informed.

However, the departure of Umrah pilgrims can be carried out from December 1, 2021, he said. The authorities need to prepare, including collecting data on Umrah pilgrims and processing their visas, Latief explained.

“Following the lifting of the flight suspension, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Hajj Ministry of Saudi Arabia will discuss the technical implementation of Umrah,” he added.

Source: Antara News

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) will continue to focus on health research and innovation activities for the handling and mitigation of COVID-19, BRIN Head Laksana Tri Handoko has said.

“At this time, BRIN still centers its focus on health research related to handling COVID-19, because, as we know, this pandemic is not over yet, although we all certainly hope this will end soon,” he remarked at a virtual event entitled ‘Health and Food Research and Innovation 2021’ originating from here on Tuesday.

Specifically, the focus of BRIN’s research on overcoming COVID-19 lies in three things: the independent development of the COVID-19 vaccine, development of non-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection tools, and COVID-19 case surveillance tool, Handoko informed.

Hence, he said he hopes that BRIN researchers can soon produce vaccine seeds that can be handed over to pharmaceutical industries for mass production in 2022.

“There are still many challenges, but, of course, all the researchers at BRIN and other teams are working hard on the Merah Putih vaccine,” he added.

According to Handoko, the development of a variety of non-PCR detection tools is necessary because COVID-19 detection is one of the most strategic instruments for preventing large-scale virus transmission.

Meanwhile, he said, surveillance is being carried out based on whole-genome sequencing. It has actually been done by BRIN researchers, especially those from Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology and Cibinong Science Center, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

“Until next year, these are still our main research goals. Thus, we hope our researchers will be able to develop vaccine seeds that are categorized as CPOB or the method of producing a good drug,” Handoko added.

Source: Antara News