The West Java administration’s COVID-19 and economic recovery task force has prepared refrigerators and cold storage rooms to house vaccine doses in 27 regencies and cities in the province in preparation for mass vaccination efforts.
West Java secretary and task force head Setiawan Wangsaatmaja said the province had 1,462 refrigerators at 1,087 community health centers (Puskesmas) as well as 259 cold storage rooms.
“We also have 1,090 vaccination workers,” he said during a West Java COVID-19 task force public meeting on Tuesday.
Setiawan said the administration was seeking to ensure that the vaccination process would go smoothly.
He added that the administration had carried out vaccination simulations in Depok to determine vaccination capacity and the length of the process before starting the effort.
Setiawan said the administration would seek to educate the public about a future COVID-19 vaccine.
“We have to convince the residents [to get vaccinated] so they [have to] learn about it,” he said.
He said vaccine education had to be based on data and facts. “The data that we present must be accurate, in accordance to the facts on the ground. Second, we must also be results-oriented,” he added.
Setiawan said the administration would need partners to help disseminate information about COVID-19 vaccination.
West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil previously asked the central government for at least three million doses of a future COVID-19 vaccine for residents of Bogor, Depok and Bekasi – all part of Greater Jakarta. About 16 million people live in the three cities.
Ridwan said the central government would be responsible for the distribution of a future vaccine to the regions.
“Regional administrations can only distribute [the vaccine] once it has been decided,” he said.
He added that about 300,000 Depok citizens would receive a vaccine in the first stage of vaccination and outlined the initiative’s priorities.
“The first [priority] is medical workers, the second is Indonesian Military and police personnel. The third is people working in vulnerable areas such as [mass transit] stations and the fourth is ordinary residents in vulnerable areas,” Ridwan said.
He said vaccine recipients would have to be between 18 and 59 years old.
“Outside that age range, [vaccination] must be done with a doctor’s recommendation,” he said.
Ridwan said that although the West Java administration did not know when a future vaccine would be distributed, the administration had prepared all the infrastructure and medical workers needed for the first wave of vaccination.
“When the vaccination starts depends on the central government. The type one vaccine is imported and hence it is in the central government’s authority [to decide to begin the mass vaccination program],” Ridwan said. (adi/ami)
