VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 5 - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin confirmed he will collaborate with the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) and National Police (Polri) to fast-track the implementation of COVID-19 vaccination.

"Currently, we have started (collaborating) with the private sector and this week with institutions and ministries. We are also collaborating with the TNI-Polri," he remarked while speaking during a productive dialog themed "Digitalization of Vaccination Acceleration" on Thursday.

The TNI and Polri have several healthcare workers that can be empowered to administer vaccine injections. However, the current requirement is locations for the vaccination.

"We invite all TNI (members) to function as vaccinators, as what is required now is people that can inject vaccines," he pointed out.

The Ministry of Health had earlier collaborated with the Halodoc and Gojek start-ups for the implementation of vaccinations, particularly to offer the COVID-19 Vaccination Service Post through a drive-through mechanism.

The government is currently continuing to accelerate vaccination by synergizing with various parties.

Vaccination campaigns have been conducted at various locations, including schools and sports buildings, by offering a drive-through mechanism especially to facilitate elderly people and to also prevent crowds.

Sadikin pointed to the limited number of vaccines posing the main challenge to the vaccination process. The issue has become a hot topic worldwide, and several countries have yet to commence vaccination.

"Our target is that vaccinations are completed in one year. In the first six months, only 90 million doses of vaccine were available for 45 million Indonesians," he remarked.

In the following six months, some 140 million people must be vaccinated. "This necessitates synergy with various parties since the Ministry of Health cannot do it alone," he stated. (Antaranews)