VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vaccines Come, Health Protocols Are Still Applied - EDITORIAL 

Sunday, December 6, 1.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Banten from China. The vaccine produced by the Sinovac Company is part of the first stage procurement of 3 million doses of the SARS-CoV-2 type vaccine from China. In his press statement, President Joko Widodo said that there are still 1.8 million doses of Sinovac vaccine to come in January 2021. In addition, 45 million doses will arrive in the form of bulk raw materials for the manufacture of the Covid-19 vaccine in the same month. The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine is the answer to the questions of the Indonesian people so far when the Covid-19 vaccine would arrive.

The arrival of this first batch of vaccines also provides new hope for the Indonesian people who have been tired of being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic for almost one year. According to Chairman of the Committee for Handling COVID-19 and National Economic Recovery, Airlangga Hartarto, the implementation of vaccination will build a sense of security and confidence as a nation in carrying out various socio-economic activities to support health security, boost productivity, and maintain and increase national economic growth. The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine needs welcoming. The vaccination programs give hope that this pandemic will end soon. But that high hope should not disobey caution.

The goal of vaccination is to reduce the number of pain and mortality due to a disease by building immunity so that it does not get sick even though it is exposed to a disease. Individual health impacts community health. The fewer sufferers are, the transmission is more likely to be prevented.

However, based on experience, vaccines cannot be given once. The same is the case with the Covid-19 vaccine. After getting the vaccine, don't think that someone is no longer likely to be exposed with Covid-19. Usually, there is a repeat of the vaccine periodically so that it is truly effective. Thereby, vaccination does not necessarily make the corona virus that causes Covid-19 disappear on this earth. That’s why, caution must be maintained. While vaccinations are running, health protocols must also be applied. Wearing a mask, keeping distance and washing hands are actually quite effective ways to prevent the Covid-19 transmission. In addition, the government also cannot relax the 3-T measures: Tracing, Testing and Treatment during the vaccination.