VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia has received an additional 2,000,700 doses of finished Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed directly to 12 provinces.

"The purchase of the vaccine is to augment the national vaccine stocks. Currently, Indonesia has received 280,527,920 doses of vaccines in the form of semi-finished and finished goods," spokesperson for the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi said in a written statement received here on Sunday.

She informed that the 87th batch of vaccines had arrived through two airports -- Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten Province and Juanda Airport in East Java Province.

The vaccines that arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport will be disbursed to the Provincial Health Offices in Aceh, Bengkulu, East NusaTenggara, Gorontalo, Jambi, North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, South Kalimantan, West Java, and West NusaTenggara.

Meanwhile, the vaccines received through Juanda Airport will be allocated to East Java Provincial Health Office only.

The arrival of the vaccines is expected to accelerate, the  distribution of vaccines  to all regions in Indonesia – especially remote and outermost areas.

"The government keeps striving to secure the vaccine stocks and send the vaccines directly to provinces   across  Indonesia in order  to shorten the distribution chain and maintain vaccine access for all people,” the spokesperson continued.

Furthermore, she reminded the public to get vaccinated soon and  not to be picky about the vaccine types – be it Pfizer, Sinovac, Moderna, AstraZeneca, or others -- as all of them are safe and effective.

In addition, she urged the people to remain disciplined in implementing health protocols.

"Vaccine is  not the only means that  protects us against COVID-19 while we are conducting  daily activities in public places," she reasoned.

Hence, the government continues to encourage local governments with low vaccination coverage to expedite their vaccination programs, especially for vulnerable groups comprising the elderly.

According to Tarmizi, some regions still have low vaccination coverage for the elderly -- for instance Aceh, North Maluku, Papua, and West Sumatra.

"I hope each region can make a number of strategies to increase vaccination coverage for the vulnerable group based on the availability of vaccines in their respective regions," she added. (Antaranews)

The Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry has dispatched a four-member investigative team to gather facts regarding the alleged rape of three children by their father in East Luwu District, South Sulawesi Province, in 2019.

Investigations into the case were stopped by local police at the time due to insufficient evidence.

While four investigators have been dispatched currently, a team coordinator will follow soon, an official said.

"We are still gathering facts, so we came down here to find the facts," the ministry's team leader Taufan said in Makassar on Saturday.

However, he was reluctant to share the results of a meeting with the South Sulawesi Women and Child Protection Technical Unit pertaining to the case's handling.

"We cannot provide information yet because this is only the initial process. We are repeating this process from the beginning to see the facts on the field. We are still here until the process is complete," he elaborated.

He said that the team from the ministry has come to seek the truth and gather facts so that the case can be reopened, given that the incident involved children who were allegedly sexually abused by their own father, identified by his initials as SA (initial).

"We are looking for facts here. What is clear is that we collect facts from all relevant parties. If all (locations) are revealed (to the public), those will be visited, they will get ready. We want to give an element of surprise so that they do not prepare (tamper with evidence)," Taufan added.

He pointed out that data from the investigation, once it is completed, will be revealed to the public through the media.

Meanwhile, head of the South Sulawesi Women and Child Protection Technical Unit Meisy Papuyungan said that the ministry's team has come to find out what actually happened. The ministry in Jakarta has completely handed over the investigation to the team, Papuyungan added.

"We leave it for further investigation to the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry. Now, the victims are with their mother. As long as they need it, we are ready. There is a team going there (East Luwu). They asked for initial information, then we suggested that we go down immediately to dig up valid information so this doesn't get confusing," Papuyungan said.

The victims' mother, RA, had alleged her ex-husband, SA, who worked in East Luwu district government as a civil servant, had sexually abused her three biological children, identified by their initials as AL, MR, and AL, in 2019.

Investigation into the case was stopped due to insufficient evidence in 2019, officials said. The case went viral on social media in October 2021. The way the investigation into the case was ceased was deemed odd by LBH Makassar, the victim's legal assistance team. (Antaranews)

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has called for the acceleration of vaccinations of the elderly given the small number of districts that have completed vaccinations for the group.

"There are still few elderly people who have been vaccinated. Therefore, it (vaccinations) must be encouraged and pushed for," she said during a visit to Al Falah Middle School in Sidoarjo on Saturday.

The alumni association of Airlangga University is hosting vaccinations in several East Java districts and cities, such as Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Gresik, Lamongan, and Mojokerto, so that they can meet the Home Affairs Ministry's criteria for Level 1 community activity restriction, Parawansa noted.

She said that the achievement of herd immunity will rely on contributions from various stakeholders in pushing up the vaccination rate.

"We also thank Al Falah Middle School for providing a place as a vaccination location. Because vaccination is not only for students but also for local residents," she remarked.

Meanwhile, head of Sidoarjo district, Ahmad Muhdlor Ali, said that his administration is currently trying to vaccinate 70 percent of the 1.6 million targeted residents.

He revealed that 66 percent of the district's elderly residents have received the first vaccine dose, while 32 percent have received the second dose.

The vaccination organizer for the alumni association of Airlangga University, Dwi Wahyu Indrawati, said that her association is administering around 2,500 vaccine doses at each event.

"We have held about eight (vaccination programs), both for the first and second doses, with 2,500 doses (administered) in each time," she informed.

The vaccination effort is in line with central government's focus on building herd immunity, she said.

Earlier, the central government was targeting to inoculate 70 percent of the population by the end of the year. However, since late September, it has set a new target: it is now aiming to vaccinate 80 percent of the total population in order to achieve herd immunity. (Antaranews)

Indonesia has received 243,440 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the United Kingdom government as an expression of its solidarity and global cooperation on the COVID-19 pandemic.



"I wish to express our gratitude to the United Kingdom government for sharing a portion of their COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indonesia," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said in a written statement released by the Communication and Informatics Ministry here on Friday.



The current vaccine arrival is the second, as the UK government earlier had donated around 620 thousand vaccine doses for Indonesia on August 2, 2021, she informed.



Indonesia reiterates its firm support for global cooperation for handling the pandemic through the vaccine dose-sharing scheme, the foreign minister said.



She also lauded the UK government's decision to rescind Indonesia from its COVID-19 red list, saying it is proof of global confidence in the improving pandemic situation in Indonesia.



The decision to remove Indonesia from the UK red list followed a recent meeting between the Indonesian and the UK foreign ministers during the UN General Assembly session at the end of September, Marsudi said.



The spirit of solidarity and collaboration among countries in the world is key to addressing the health crisis, she added.


With the arrival of the 86th vaccine batch, Indonesia has obtained a total of 278,527,220 vaccine doses, both in the form of finished products and bulk, she noted.



"The latest vaccine doses' arrival further secured our vaccine stocks as the government aimed for 70 percent national vaccination coverage at the end of 2021. As of October 8, 2021, around 46.52 percent of the national population has received the first vaccine dose and 26.49 percent of the population has completed their vaccine doses," the minister said.



Residents should continue to abide by the health protocol as the government continues to expedite the vaccination effort, she added. (Antaranews)