VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Several countries have started vaccinating their citizens in order to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic which is still sweeping the world.

Israel is one of the first countries to administer the Covid-19 vaccination. Until now, approximately 1 million people have been vaccinated there. This has been followed by Bahrain and Britain, although the numbers are not significant. Meanwhile, several other countries are still preparing or just starting the vaccination process. The Netherlands, for example, just started vaccination on January 6, 2021. Indonesia is planning to take it in the middle of January 2021.

What various countries are pursuing is that vaccination reaches a minimum of 70 percent of the population or  until Herd Immunity is achieved.

Israel hopes to achieve herd immunity in February 2021. In contrast to Britain, which was forced to carry out a lockdown again because the number of people exposed to the virus in  this country continues to increase. As of January 4, there were nearly 22,000 patients hospitalized for Covid-19 cases in the UK. This is a 30-percent increase in the week, thought to be due to a surge in infections from the new variant that is spreading faster. Concerns about the spread of the Covid19 virus and its new variants have even spread to other countries.

Many have questioned, will herd immunity be achieved immediately after vaccination?

Epidemiologist from Griffith University's Global Health Security, Dicky Budiman said that although currently there is a vaccine, it is necessary to know that the effect of the vaccine is not yet fully known. Thus, the vaccine cannot be the answer to the completion of the Covid-19 case. A New Normal lifestyle that follows the Health protocol is still needed.

Synergistic efforts are necessary for the vaccine to be effective. The number of Covid-19 transmissionsW must at least be controlled first. The public's perception of Covid-19 as a dangerous virus must also be integrated first.

Thereby, countries should focus on not only the distribution of vaccines to various places, but also other efforts in line with the vaccination program, including good public communication. So, the people must strictly apply the set health protocols, even though vaccinations have been carried out.