VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) recently visited the disabled-friendly Grab Vaccination Center, which was opened at the Jogja Expo Center under a collaboration between Grab, Good Doctor, the Health Ministry, and the Yogyakarta Health Office.

The vaccination center operated from September 8 to September 11, 2021 to offer a second round of COVID-19 vaccination services.

After the review, Widodo lauded all stakeholders who helped organize the vaccination program to protect people from the coronavirus. During the review, Jokowi was accompanied by Cabinet Secretary Pramono Agung, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, and head of Bantul district, Abdul Halim Muslih.

Eight thousand people from different backgrounds, ranging from people with disabilities, abdi dalems (royal household servants), the elderly, and public workers from the tourism and transportation sectors were vaccinated at the program, the organizers said.

In February 2021, Grab and Good Doctor became the Indonesian government's first private partners for boosting the national vaccination program using technology, they added. To date, they have distributed vaccines to more than 150 thousand people and driver-partners in Indonesia in 54 districts and cities, they informed.

The Grab Vaccine Center Yogyakarta used a technology-driven approach to ensure the comfort of vaccine recipients, starting from the pre-registration process, the vaccination schedule, pre-screening, and registration, the organizers said. The process was made efficient through the use of the GrabHealth service, supported by Good Doctor's digital infrastructure, in collaboration with the Yogyakarta government, they said.

The Grab Vaccine Center provided special entrances and queues for people with disabilities, access for wheelchair users, and disabled-friendly toilets, the organizers said.

In addition, people with disabilities also received assistance from Difabel Disaster Response (DIFAGANA), there were special translators for deaf participants, and special shuttle services were offered to people with disabilities to the vaccination center through Difabike powered by GrabGerak, the first motorcycle taxi serving persons with disabilities and the general public, and the GrabGerak service, which four-wheeled transportation with driver-partners trained to serve people with disabilities, they added.

“I would like to thank the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Joko Widodo, who was present to review the second wave of the Grab Vaccine Center in Yogyakarta today. I also give my appreciation to the health workers and all the committees who have worked together to make this activity a success," president of Grab Indonesia, Ridzki Kramadibrata, said in a written statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Kramadibrata said the first batch of vaccinations were administered from June 14 to June 17, 2021 and went smoothly and successfully.

"Now, the second wave of our vaccine center is safe, halal (permissible in Islam), and maximizes existing technology and resources. Grab Vaccine Center makes people with disabilities one of the vaccination targets by providing various facilities and friendly access for them. Hopefully through this vaccination center, we can create herd immunity as soon as possible so that it will help the local economy to get better,” he added.

Meanwhile, managing director of Good Doctor Technology Indonesia, Danu Wicaksana, said that Good Doctor is always ready to be the government's partner to make the national vaccination program a success.

"We recognize the importance of accelerating the implementation of COVID-19 vaccinations to support Indonesia's recovery. At the Grab Vaccine Center, we take advantage of the vaccination participant registration feature as well as the pre-screening feature that can be accessed through the Grab and Good Doctor applications to reduce crowds and minimize canceled or delayed cases at the vaccination site," Wicaksana explained.(Antaranews)