Togetherness and mutual cooperation in carrying out COVID-19 vaccinations is a social responsibility of businesses towards the community, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has said.
“It is hoped that many entrepreneurs will be involved so that this becomes a part of their social responsibility to the community. Because the handling of COVID-19 must be carried out in mutual cooperation and must be implemented in 34 provinces of Indonesia,” the minister said in a statement here on Thursday.
The government has formulated a vaccination policy for pregnant women with recommendations from the National Immunization Expert Advisory Committee (ITAGI) as well as inputs from the the National Population and Family Planning Board (BKKBN), the Indonesian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology, (POGI), and the Indonesian Midwives Association (IBI), he informed.
The vaccination of pregnant women is important because they are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19, especially due to certain medical conditions, he explained. The increased risk impacts the pregnancy and the baby, he added.
Vaccination programs for pregnant women have been held in 10 Indonesian provinces. On Thursday (August 19, 2021), a vaccination program for pregnant women was launched at the City Hall of DKI Jakarta. “According to the President’s direction, in the implementation of vaccinations for pregnant women, midwives have been deployed to become vaccinators. The midwives are trained and understand how to handle pregnant women,” the minister observed.
One of the targets of efforts to deal with COVID-19 is to reduce the death rate, Hartarto said.
Vaccination is expected to be a game-changer in COVID-19 handling by reducing the death rate and aiding the recovery of the national economy, he observed.
“I thank POGI, BKKBN, IBI, Salim Group and various parties in the COVID-19 Vaccination Declaration for Pregnant Women in supporting the acceleration of handling COVID-19,” he added.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said that the health of a nation is determined by maternal and infant mortality. Therefore, reducing maternal and infant mortality is the government’s target amid the pandemic, as also lowering maternal mortality during childbirth, he added.
“Once again, we thank health workers who are willing to fight to help the birth of children of the younger generation during the pandemic,” Sadikin remarked.
Source: Antara News