VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin joins the Studium Generale of Nahdlatul Ulama University Surabaya via video conferencing from his official residence in Jakarta on Saturday (August 28, 2021). ANTARA/HO-Asdep KIP Setwapres - 

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has said that the government will not only rely on imports of COVID-19 vaccines for meeting people's needs, but also support the development of local vaccines.

"The government also continues to encourage the development of national vaccines so that we do not just rely on imported vaccines," Amin said at the Studium Generale of Nahdlatul Ulama University (UNU) Surabaya, which is joined via video conferencing from his official residence here on Saturday.

Currently, there are two domestically-made COVID-19 vaccines — the Nusantara Vaccine and the Red and White Vaccine, he noted. The government has set a target to produce vaccines and medicines for COVID-19 handling immediately, he added.

"The government targets that in the future, we will be able to produce COVID-19 vaccines and other medicines for the nation's independence in the field of public health," Amin said.

Vaccination is one of the government's priorities in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to implementing the health protocols.

The government is aiming to build community immunity or herd immunity by vaccinating at least 70 percent of the total population of Indonesia.

The implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination is also aimed at reducing the transmission of active cases and the death rate.

“Vaccination is also targeted to help the country achieve herd immunity, and at the same time protect the citizens from COVID-19, so that they remain socially and economically productive," the Vice President said.

As part of efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has collaborated with several countries for securing COVID-19 vaccines for the people of Indonesia.

As of Friday (August 27, 2021), Indonesia has received 208.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and distributed 123,256,044 doses to 34 provinces//ANT

A pregnant woman receiving her COVID-19 vaccine injection in a hospital in Madiun, East Java, on Wednesday (Aug 25, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Madiun City Administration/FR) - 

The government’s spokesperson for COVID-19 handling Reisa Broto Asmoro explained the criteria for pregnant women, who can participate in the COVID-19 vaccination.

"It is recommended that pregnant women who participate in COVID-19 vaccination are in their second trimester wherein their gestational period has exceeded 12 weeks," Asmoro stated during a virtual talk show on Friday evening.

She explained that during the second trimester of pregnancy, the foetus has grown stronger, with an average weight of 42 grams and length reaching nine centimeters.

Asmoro noted that the baby's bones and skeleton also become harder, its hearing capability has improved, and brain capacity has developed since the first trimester.

She suggested pregnant women to express their intent to be vaccinated to their obstetrician or midwife.

In addition, Asmoro emphasized that they should fulfill all the basic preconditions for vaccination, such as not having any fever or temperature below 37.5 degrees Celcius and blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg.

"They should not have any disease and show no sign of preeclampsia, hypertension, and others," she affirmed.

People often raise the question of whether pregnant women can be administered the COVID-19 vaccine. Significant amount of information related to it is not yet verified.

To this end, Asmoro called on citizens to be careful of hoaxes that spread misleading information regarding COVID-19.

She urged citizens to recheck every information they gain through official website.

The government's official website that shows information regarding the pandemic situation in Indonesia is covid19.go.id., according to Asmoro.

Citizens can check the validity of the information that they obtain through that website, she asserted.

"You just need to click Hoax Buster, enter the keywords, and check if the news is hoax or not," Asmoro explained//ANT

Indonesia's Manpower Minister, Ida Fauziyah, launches the stage 1 development the 2021 Community-based Vocational Training Center (BLK). (ANTARA/HO-Manpower Ministry/FR) -  

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah launched the stage 1 development of the Community-based Vocational Training Center (BLK) in 2021 as part of efforts to improve the competency of the nation's human resources.

"The establishment of Community-based BLK is a form of effort to spread work training institutions so that they can be accessed by citizens who live far away from the available work training institution locations," Fauziyah said in a statement released here on Saturday.

The launch was marked by the signing of the 2021 Community-based Vocational Training Center contract between the Manpower Ministry and the aid recipient institution.

The establishment of the BLKs was a breakthrough by President Joko Widodo that began in 2017, Fauziyah said.

As of 2020, the Manpower Ministry has established 2.127 Community-based BLKs across Indonesia, she informed.

After the program and the budget were adjusted, the Ministry aimed to construct 787 BLKs by 2021. In stage I, around 520 Community-based BLKs will be built, and in stage II, around 267 institutions will be built, she said.

It is expected that with the establishment of the BLKs, the improvement of human resources' competency can be made more effective and through the addition of skilled as well as qualified workforce, the minister explained.

For the 2021 Community-based BLK program, the Ministry has increased the number of training branches by 24, Fauziyah added.

"With the addition to these training branches, I want there to be a link and match with the industry and the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around the Community-based BLKs," she remarked.

She also urged the aid recipient institution to conduct the construction process in accordance with the technical guideline that has been published.

The directorate general of the ministry's vocational training and productivity guidance will strictly oversee the entire process and ensure that the construction is done in a transparent manner, she added//ANT

Flyer of MotoGP Pre-season on February 11-13, 2022 at Mandalika Circuit. (ANTARA/HO/rst) - 

Indonesia is honored to host the MotoGP pre-season test at the Mandalika Circuit, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on February 11-13, 2022, Chief Strategic Communication Officer of the Mandalika Grand Prix Association (MGPA) Happy Harinto stated.

"It is an honor for the Mandalika circuit, for Indonesia, to be able to serve as a location for the pre-season test in 2022," Harinto told ANTARA on Saturday.

Although counted as a new circuit, the Mandalika Circuit has also joined the World Superbike calendar as the host of the closing series on November 12-14 this year.

Harinto believes this is an extraordinary opportunity for Indonesia, since not all countries can be trusted as locations for holding pre-season tests. Various aspects were tested during the pre-season test, starting from the physical racers, motorbikes, engines, chassis, tires, and clothes to helmets.

"Hence, basically everything is being tested from drivers to test technicians, so later standardization or technological specifications will be applied during the 2022 racing season," he stated.

Most importantly, all MotoGP riders along with manufacturers and partners will come to the Mandalika circuit, he remarked.

Harinto later noted that this is an Indonesian automotive asset to grab the world's attention. Indonesia should be able to take a cue from automotive industries of other countries.

"Hopefully, the future of Indonesia's automotive will be brighter. This is also an encouragement not only from the automotive sector but also the tourism industry. We should package and manage the presence of a MotoGP class world event properly," he emphasized.

Prior to Mandalika, MotoGP had scheduled a pre-season test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on February 5-6.

The shakedown test session will also be held from January 31 to February 2 in Sepang, with attendees comprising test riders and rookies.

After testing the latest motorcycle package in Malaysia, the racers will head to Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Meanwhile, the temporary pre-season test for the Moto2 and Moto3 classes will be held at the Jerez Circuit, Spain, on February 22-24, 2022//ANT