Day: December 15, 2021

The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) has begun vaccinating children aged 6–11 in West Java province, head of the West Java Regional BIN, Brigadier General Deddy Agus Purwanto, has informed.

“This is the first implementation of vaccinations for elementary school students in Indonesia. We have provided 400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for third, fourth, and sixth-grade students,” he said in a statement received here on Wednesday.

The implementation of vaccinations for elementary school (SD) students is in accordance with the Letter of Health Minister Number SR.01.02/4/3309/2021, he added.

The agency had vaccinated elementary school students at SDN Sukatani 07 and SDN 01 Depok in Depok city, West Java province, on Wednesday, he said.

The program has only been permitted in nine cities/districts in the province, he added.

They are Depok city, Cimahi city, Bogor city, Bekasi city, Banjar city, Bandung city, Ciamis district, Bekasi district, and West Bandung district, he said.

According to Purwanto, the vaccination program targeting elementary school students aims to facilitate face-to-face learning by curbing the transmission of COVID-19.

“Thus, it is very important. Vaccination can create herd immunity. It is our attempt to fight the pandemic. Moreover, face-to-face learning has now started to be resumed,” he said.

The vaccination program was carried out after Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin issued Ministerial Decree Number HK.01.07/MENKES/6688/2021 on the Implementation of the COVID-19 Vaccination for Children aged 6–11 years old, he added.

The decree was based on the recommendation of the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) through its Letter Number 166/ITAGI/Adm/XII/2021 dated December 9, 2021, regarding the Study of COVID-19 Vaccination for Children aged 6–11 years old.

In the first stage, the program will be conducted in provinces and cities/districts where first dose coverage has reached 70 percent and the vaccination coverage among the elderly has reached 60 percent.

Source: Antara News

Indonesian National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo reviewed a mass COVID-19 vaccination program in Sorumba Field, Ranomeeto Sub-district, South Konawe District, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Wednesday. Prabowo and his entourage arrived at the field around 16:30 Central Indonesia Standard Time (WITA), where he interacted with the vaccine recipients.

He was accompanied by Southeast Sulawesi Governor Ali Mazi, Head of Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police Inspector General Teguh Pristiwanto, Commander of 143/Halu Oleo Military Resort Command Brigadier General Jannie Aldrin Siahaan, Acting Head of the Southeast Sulawesi Health Office Usnia, and Head of South Konawe District Surunuddin Dangga.

After reviewing the activity, he asked the ranks of Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police, comprising the Kolaka District Resort Police (Polres), Buton District Polres, and South Konawe District Polres, to report the coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in their respective regions virtually.

The National Police Chief urged all his staff in the province to expedite mass vaccination according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)’s instructions.

Hence, the national coverage for the first vaccination dose could reach 70 percent by the end of December 2021 to curb the transmission of the new variant of COVID-19 called Omicron.

“Do not hesitate to participate in vaccinations. The vaccines have been prepared, and the vaccinators are ready to help. Thus, people only need to come to the vaccination posts. The attempt aims to improve our immunity against the pandemic,” he emphasized.

Prabowo is scheduled to provide Southeast Sulawesi Regional Police staff internal directives and continue his working visit to a nickel industry in Konawe District on December 16, 2021.

As of Wednesday, at 18:15 Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB), first dose vaccination coverage in South Konawe District had reached 45.21 percent of the province’s target or equivalent to 107,206 recipients.

Meanwhile, only 46,830 people have received the second dose or just 19.78 percent of the province’s target.

Source: Antara News

Deputy Minister of Health, Dante Saksono Harbuwono, on Wednesday announced that Indonesia’s COVID-19 vaccination rate had exceeded the target set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“The WHO has targeted countries to reach 40 percent vaccination coverage by December 2021. Currently, we have surpassed that,” he said at the 2022 IDX Channel Economic Outlook, accessed from here on Wednesday.

Vaccination acceleration must be carried out in a bid to reach herd immunity, he added. For this, the government is continuing to make efforts to meet the nation’s vaccine needs, he continued.

The Indonesian government has also started COVID-19 vaccinations for children aged 6–11, he noted. Third dose or booster vaccinations will also be rolled out on January 1, 2022, he added.

The booster vaccinations will be administered free of charge to people registered as government assistance recipients, he informed. Meanwhile, paid booster vaccinations will involve the private sector, he added.

However, the doses will still be prioritized for second dose vaccinations, which are targeted to be completed no later than the first quarter of 2022, he said. Meanwhile, the government will coordinate the number and types of vaccines to be imported by the private sector for booster vaccinations, he added.

“For the paid booster vaccination, it will be administered in places provided by the private sector. Meanwhile, for the free booster vaccination program, it will only be administered at public health centers and government hospitals,” he informed.

He said he believes that the vaccine supply for the booster vaccination program will be sufficient because the government is currently trying to develop the locally-made Red and White vaccine.

In a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021.

According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of December 15, 2021, nearly 148,344,215 citizens have received their first COVID-19 shot, while 104,522,156 have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Source: Antara News

Indonesia received the 159th batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from Australia, which contained 1,095,000 doses in its finished form, and was the result of donations. “The Indonesian government really appreciates and is grateful to the Australian Government for sending these vaccines,” the Director General of Information and Public Communication at the Communications and Information Technology Ministry, Usman Kansong, stated, Wednesday.

Indonesia had also received donations of the AstraZeneca vaccines from the Australian government twice earlier. Each batch contained 1.2 million doses and was delivered on Wednesday, October 20, and Thursday, November 11.

Kansong stressed the importance of cooperation between countries, to deal with COVID-19, which has claimed many lives.

Indonesia also expedites efforts to develop and transfer knowledge of COVID-19 vaccines for the Asia Pacific region.

“As friendly and neighboring countries, Indonesia and Australia establish close relations and cooperation in efforts to deal with the pandemic,” he said.

The government continuously pushes for vaccinations on a national scale, he also said.

Given the challenges such as geographical conditions and the large population, the best solution must be sought immediately so that Indonesia can create herd immunity.

Efforts to conduct vaccination programs towards the end of the year would be increased so that the targets set could be achieved, he assured.

Everyone’s cooperation was vital in accelerating the national program, Kansong believed.

He cited active public participation as the most crucial thing in making it a success.

“In an effort to deal with the pandemic, the vaccination program is one of the main keys. To succeed, it requires the availability of vaccines that meet the needs of the Indonesian citizens,” he said.

A very large supply of vaccines is needed because Indonesia has a population of more than 200 million people, he said.

The government tries to meet the ends through both bilateral and multilateral means. First they aimed to push the vaccination rate by targeting children aged 6 to 11 years, expecting an immediate formation of herd immunity.

“Along with that, the government continuously reminds the public not to be careless in adhering to health protocols,” he said in conclusion.

Source: Antara News

The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Selayar Islands district, South Sulawesi province, reported that 5,511 families in two sub-districts were affected by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Flores Sea on Tuesday morning.

“According to the recent report, Pasilambena and Pasimarannu sub-districts are severely affected. Currently, the residents are still at refugee camps,” head of the Selayar district BPBD, Ahmad Ansar, said here on Wednesday.

At least 3,353 families were affected by the quake in Pasarimarannu sub-district and 2,158 families in Pasilambena sub-district, he informed.

Meanwhile, the quake displaced 3,900 people in Pasimarannu sub-district, Ansar informed. Data on the number of people displaced by the quake in Pasilambena sub-district is still being collected, he added.

“We have contacted the officers in Pasilambena sub-district; however, there has been no exact data on the refugees. While in Pasimarannu sub-district, there are 17 refugee camps,” he said.

Regarding the communication networks in the affected areas, he said that there was no communication network in Garopa village and Garopa Raya village, Pasilambena sub-district.

“Hence, we only know that there are 37 refugee camps in Pasilambena sub-district, but there is no data on the number of the refugees,” he explained.

The Selayar district BPBD has continued to coordinate and communicate with related parties regarding disaster mitigation, especially since an emergency status has been declared in the district, he said.

The emergency status will be in force from December 14–27, 2021.

Meanwhile, head of the South Sulawesi Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), Djunaidi, said he has sent several personnel to assist the local rescue team and the affected communities in the evacuation process.

“Basarnas is always ready to provide assistance to disaster victims,” he emphasized.

In addition, the South Sulawesi provincial BPBD has sent aid for mitigating the impact of the disaster in the Selayar Islands district, he added.

Source: Antara News

The COVID-19 pandemic has taught Indonesia the importance of building health sector resilience, Deputy Minister of Health, Dante Saksono, has said.

“Turns out, the pandemic teaches (us) to strengthen resilience and coordination because the health sector is a shared responsibility. The coordination carried out by the Ministry of Health includes not only the health sector but also many aspects because everyone sees that the fall in the health sector will make other sectors fall as well,” he said at the 2022 IDX Channel Economic Outlook, which was accessed here on Wednesday.

Throughout the pandemic, to keep Indonesia’s health system resilient, ministries and institutions automatically coordinated under the leadership of President Joko Widodo, he noted.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that in handling the pandemic, the government is trying to balance the interests of various ministries and institutions, especially those related to the economic and health sectors.

The Ministry of Health is trying to contribute to the national economy through the health sector by transforming health system resilience, especially regarding pharmaceuticals and medical devices, he pointed out.

“The government will continue to encourage local production, attract foreign pharmaceutical industries for investment, and provide fiscal facilities for research activities in Indonesia,” he said.

The pandemic has also prompted the government to look for a new balance point between the health sector and the economy, he added. Because, without taking into account the community’s economic condition, the government will face problems in improving people’s to access health facilities.

The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indonesia in March 2020. According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of December 15, 2021, at least 4,259,644 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country, while 4,110,811 people have recovered, and 143,969 people have succumbed to the deadly virus

Source: Antara News

Indonesia recorded 205 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with West Java reporting the most infections, according to the COVID-19 Task Force.

Based on data collected by the task force in Jakarta, West Java contributed the most to the national case tally with 52 cases. Meanwhile, Central Java recorded 29 cases, East Java 28 cases, Central Sulawesi 10 cases, and Yogyakarta and West Papua 7 each.

With the new cases, the total number of COVID-19 cases recorded in the nation so far reached 4,259,644, the task force said.

The number of active cases declined by 41 to reach 4,864 cases, it added.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 increased by nine, with five people from Central Java, one from Lampung, two people from East Java, and one from Central Kalimantan succumbing to the disease. Thus, the total death toll reached 143,969.

According to the task force, 237 recovered from the virus in the 24 hours ended Wednesday, taking the total recoveries to 4,110,811.

Most of the patients were from West Java (57), followed by Central Java (33), Jakarta (27), East Java (25), and Yogyakarta (23).

A total of 309,133 specimens were examined for COVID-19, with 4,198 people suspected of contracting the virus, the task force said.

Spokesperson for the COVID-19 Task Force, Wiku Adisasmito, appealed to the public to increase efforts to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic with the approach of the year-end holidays.

“For people who have not been vaccinated and cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, long-distance travel is prohibited. For further regulations, especially other types of travel and logistics, those are stipulated in the same rules, that is Addendum to the Circular Letter of the Task Force Number 25 of 2021,” he elaborated. (

Source: Antara News

The government is only allowing echelon 1 and upper ranks of public officials returning from abroad to self-quarantine, spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccinations at the Health Ministry, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has emphasized.

Officials need to undergo a 10-day self-quarantine based on specific considerations, she said.

“Self-quarantine recommendations are certainly given with restrictions, such as the consideration of (having to conduct) government service,” she informed while issuing a statement on public activity restrictions (PPKM) here on Wednesday.

She also said she hoped that action would be taken against those violating quarantine regulations, such as returning them to the quarantine sites. If they are not cooperative, sanctions may be imposed on them, as stipulated in Article 14 of the Infectious Disease Plague Law and Article 93 of the Health Quarantine Law, she added.

Furthermore, she emphasized that the rules of quarantine refer to COVID-19 Task Force’s Circular Letter No. 25 of 2021 concerning the health protocol for international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on that regulation, both Indonesian nationals (WNI) and foreign nationals (WNA) arriving from abroad must undergo a 10-day quarantine in available facilities, she said.

Two types of quarantine facilities are being provided to Indonesian citizens: government and paid facilities, she informed.

Foreign nationals need to bear the full cost for their quarantine, she added.

WNI can be made exempt only under urgent circumstances, such as if they have life-threatening health conditions, need special care, or grieving the death of a core family member, the spokesperson said.

“In responding to the Omicron variant as the Christmas and New Year holidays are near, the government again asked the public to keep being alert by tightening the health protocols, using PeduliLindungi app, and getting the vaccine (if not yet so),” she explained. (

Source: Antara News