VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A truck carrying oxygen concentrators prepares for dispatch from the Industry Ministry to the Health Ministry building in Jakarta. (ANTARA/HO-Industry Ministry/sh) - 

The Industry Ministry has mobilized supply from oxygen generation plants nationwide to meet the growing demand for medical oxygen for COVID-19 patients across Indonesia.

"Oxygen stocks are available in Java as well as outside Java. Now, as the demand in Java is high, we are mobilizing the supply from plants in Java as well as outside Java to meet the sharply increased demand," the ministry's director of upstream chemical industry, Fridy Juwono, said here on Thursday.

The demand for medical oxygen in Indonesia has jumped from just 400 tons per day in March, 2020, when the country reported its first coronavirus infections, to two thousand tons per day on average currently.

Data from the Health Ministry shows that medical oxygen demand has reached 2,323 tons per day as of July 6, 2021, Juwono said.

Meanwhile, the national oxygen production capacity has been recorded at just 1,850 tons per day, which means the industry would need to boost production, he pointed out.

The Industry Minister has issued instruction no. 1/2021, asking industry operators to contribute to efforts to meet the oxygen demand for COVID-19 handling, he informed.

Dry air, which serves as the raw material for obtaining pure oxygen, is a mixture of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent argon, he said.

During purification, oxygen is separated from other components of the air through pressure swing absorption, he said adding, the oxygen can then be directly supplied for industrial use through a pipeline.

Some of the oxygen is liquefied and stored in oxygen cylinders as industrial stock, Juwono said.

To produce medical oxygen, liquefied oxygen would need to be converted into gas, he added.

"The liquefied oxygen would be further treated to meet the Health Ministry's standard, to reach up to 99 percent of purity, before it can be used for medical purposes," he further informed.

There are five major oxygen producers in Indonesia catering to industries as well as medical facilities, he noted.

In keeping with the ministerial instruction, oxygen producers are currently prioritizing medical oxygen production, he said.

"Many industries have also contributed to deliver their oxygen supply. From Batam, we received 100 tons, Bontang 500 tons. The oxygen would be collected and used for medical purposes," Juwono said.

Oxygen supply to the industry could get disrupted once demand for medical oxygen surpasses 2,500 tons per day, he added.

"Under such a situation, we will have to import (oxygen). But, this is something we do not want to happen," he remarked//ANT

A health worker arranges a bed in an isolation room at the Jakarta Marine Base Emergency Hospital, Saturday, July 10, 2021. (ANTARA PHOTOS/M RISYAL HIDAYAT/KT) - 

Military observer of the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) Khairul Fahmi praised the Ministry of Defense's move to convert its facilities into COVID-19 emergency hospitals.

"Since the start of the pandemic, I have suggested the mobilization of national resources and infrastructure as a solution and precautionary measures to fulfill emergency needs," Fahmi stated when contacted in Jakarta, Friday, July 16.

The ISESS military observer noted that during this time, problems faced in handling COVID-19 were not only related to infrastructure but also human labor, specifically health workers.

"This calls for other solutions, such as the mobilization of human resources, so that health workers really focus on handling patients, and they would no longer be bothered by administrative issues and so on," Fahmi remarked.

He stated that the Ministry of Defense has worked accordingly by mobilizing the supporting components of national defense as stipulated in Law No. 23 of 2019 on National Resource Management for National Defense.

Similarly, Marapi Consulting and Advisory Senior Researcher Beni Sukadis fully supported Minister of Defense Prabowo's move to transform the ministry's education and training Centers (Pusdiklat) into emergency hospitals for COVID-19 patients.

The new emergency hospitals could help address the shortage of beds or health facilities due to the surge in the number of COVID-19 patients. In addition to supplementing emergency health facilities, the ministry should ensure the availability of health workers, Sudakis remarked.

Currently, the ministry’s several facilities were converted into COVID-19 emergency hospitals, two of which were the Defense Management Center (Pusdiklat Jemenhan) Building and the Language Education and Training Center at Pondok Labu, South Jakarta, Sukadis stated.

The senior researcher noted that the ministry's training agency in Salemba, Central Jakarta; Country Defense Center in Rumpin, Bogor; and mess stand by force at IPSC Sentul, Bogor, would serve as emergency hospitals. Thus, a total of 1,650 additional beds will be available for COVID-19 patients in the Jabodetabek metropolitan area.

He said these converted health facilities can be utilized to treat COVID-19 patients with moderate symptoms. They are also equipped with health workers, such as general practitioners, internal medicine specialists, pulmonary specialists, and anesthesiologists.

For additional health workers, the ministry has deployed supporting components that comprised general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory institutions, radiographers, Sudakis pointed out.

Earlier, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto stated that the healthcare service units had been working to offer health facilities for over a year//CNA

The Indonesian Health Ministry, along with PT Pfizer Indonesia and BioNTech SE, agreed to cooperate in providing 50 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine during 2021.

"I thank you for your cooperation in helping to meet the needs of the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia. The increase in stocks of 50 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine is expected to accelerate vaccination in Indonesia," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin noted in a written statement received here on Thursday.

The health minister remarked that the Pfizer vaccine cooperation agreement, also known as BNT 162b2, is part of Pfizer and BioNTech's global commitment to help overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sadikin welcomed the RNA-Based platform vaccine to be one of the COVID-19 vaccinations used to expedite the vaccination program in Indonesia.

PT Pfizer Indonesia and BioNTech SE provided 50 million doses of the vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) issued an emergency use approval (EUA).

"The vaccines for COVID-19 inoculation could only be offered after a distribution permit or approval for use during an emergency period is given by the BPOM," he explained.

Pfizer and BioNTech are targeting to produce three billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine globally by the end of 2021 through updating six-dose labeling, bringing about continuous process improvements, expanding production facilities, and adding new suppliers and contract manufacturers.

Pfizer's phase 3 clinical trial was conducted using BioNTech's messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and began in late July 2020, while registration for this vaccine product was completed in January 2021 with over 46 thousand participants.

Participants will continue to be monitored to ensure their safety for two years after the second dose is injected.

BioNTech was a marketing authorization holder in the European Union as well as an emergency use authorization holder in the United States along with Pfizer, Canada, and other countries prior to a full marketing authorization application being submitted.

PT Pfizer Indonesia Country Manager Stephen Leung lauded the collaboration established between Pfizer, BioNTech, and the Indonesian Health Ministry.

"This agreement is an essential step to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine that can protect public health in Indonesia, restore the economy, and accelerate the recovery of people's conditions to normal," he affirmed.

In the meantime, BioNTech's Chief Business and Chief Commercial Officer, Sean Marett, thanked the Indonesian government for its support and trust in BioNTech's ability to develop vaccines that are believed to overcome the threat of a global pandemic.

"Our goal is to make an effective and acceptable COVID-19 vaccine available to as many people as possible around the world and as quickly as possible," Marett emphasized. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo has instructed his ranks to firmly supervise the distribution of free COVID-19 therapy drugs to patients conducting self-isolation at their homes.

The distribution of free COVID-19 therapy drugs is aimed at helping treat patients and reducing their risk of contracting infections, the head of state noted at the yard of the Merdeka Palace, here on Thursday.

"I order it to be tightly supervised, so that the (vaccination) program will maximally reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 and help the treatment of COVID-19 patients," he remarked.

The president instructed National Defense Forces (TNI) Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto to coordinate with regional governments in distributing the free COVID-19 therapy drugs to the level of neighborhood association/community group (RT/RW).

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has readied supplies of COVID-19 therapy drugs.

The head of state stressed that the COVID-19 therapy drugs comprising three packages are not for sale.

"The three packages of drugs for self-isolation are not for sale. The state-owned enterprises minister has prepared the packages of COVID-19 drugs produced by state-owned pharmaceutical firms. The TNI chief will coordinate with regional governments to distribute the drugs until the level of village administration. The distribution of drugs to patients will later involve public health service posts and RT/RW staffs," he remarked.

The government will start distributing 300 thousand packages of COVID-19 therapy drugs to patients conducting self-isolation in Java and Bali on Thursday.

"Later, we will distribute 300 thousand packages to regions outside Java," he remarked.

The COVID-19 therapy drugs comprise three packages. The first package contains vitamins for asymptomatic residents, who tested positive for COVID-19 based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) swab test.

The second package comprises vitamins and drugs for residents testing positive for COVID-19 based on the PCR swab test and experiencing fever and anosmia, or loss of smell.

The third package comprises vitamins and drugs for residents, who test positive for COVID-19 based on PCR swab test, and reported above-normal body temperature and dry cough. (Antaranews)