VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Indonesia's COVID-19 Handling Task Force has reported that a total of 5,533,379 people comprising health workers, public service workers and elderly residents, have so far been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The number of people receiving the first dose of vaccine jab on Sunday increased 408,431 people compared to that on Saturday.

Meanwhile, 2,301,978 of Indonesians have been administered the second shot, or up 80,778 people from the previous day, the task force said here on Sunday.

Hence, some 13.71 percent of the total 40,349,051 target people for phase I and stage II vaccination have received the first dose. Meanwhile, only 5.69 percent has been had the second shot.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) has stated that the use of the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, which was suspended, can now be resumed for the COVID-19 vaccination program.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has also cleared the South Korean SK Bioscience vaccine for use.

Earlier, on a different occasion, the MUI had appealed to Muslims to not hesitate to get the COVID-19 jab during fasting as receiving the vaccination would not be considered as breaking fast, based on a fatwa (edict).

The Indonesian Government has set a target to administer COVID1-9 vaccines to a total of 181.5 million people within a year, in order to develop a herd immunity.

The vaccination program has started since January 13, 2021, using vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - The Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) has unveiled a guide to develop and produce human cell-based medicines to encourage domestic pharmaceutical companies to become self-reliant in drug production.

"This guide also aims to support Indonesia's self-reliance in drug production, especially human cell-based medicines. This is in line with Presidential Instruction No. 6 of 2016 on accelerating development of the pharmaceutical industry and medical device industry," BPOM's acting deputy for drug, narcotic, psychotropic precursor and addictive substance control, Rita Endang, noted in a written statement released on Friday.

Several sides have begun to study and use human cell-based drugs for treatment therapy in line with the developments in health technology, Endang pointed out.

Endang cited the example of stem cell used for the treatment of bone fracture, clogged blood vessel, and stroke.

To control the quality, efficacy, and security of human cell-based drugs before its widespread use among members of the public, the BPOM organized a meeting to disseminate information on its Regulation Number 18 of 2020 on a guide to evaluating human cell-based drugs, she noted.

Endang explained that the BPOM regulation is a policy issued to support the development of downstream human cell-based drugs since the start.

The guide covers a manual for the development and production of drugs, including quality control and the clinical and non-clinical development of human cell-based drugs to be produced en masse until the BPOM issues a circulation permit for the medicines.

The BPOM expects the guide to evaluate human cell-based medicines to serve as a comprehensive manual for both business agents and BPOM evaluators. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - Some 3.5 million people will receive the COVID-19 vaccination under a self-funded vaccination program, according to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

"The number (of people) registered (for self-funded vaccination) reaches 3.5 million. We believe the number will increase in future," Kadin Deputy Chairman for Organization, Membership and Regional Empowerment Anindya Bakrie noted in Batam, Riau Islands Province, on Thursday night.

Bakrie pointed out that thousands of companies had voiced support for the self-funded vaccination program.

"Of course, we will register all of them, and the government will later verify them," he stated.

The chamber is cooperating with the government for the procurement of self-funded vaccines.

Furthermore, Kadin is cooperating with pharmaceutical firm Biofarma and hundreds of private hospitals across Indonesia to ensure that the program is a success, according to Bakrie.

"We have been tasked with providing 20 million out of the 175 million doses of the vaccine that the government will procure," he affirmed.

The government is planning to secure 426 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the self-funded vaccination program under which private companies will offer vaccines free to employees, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin stated.

“For the vaccines (for the self-funded program), we plan to buy 426 million doses of vaccines. Of the total, the prices and delivery schedules of 275 million doses have been confirmed,” Sadikin noted during a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives here on Monday.

The prices and delivery schedules of the remaining 151 million doses of self-funded vaccines had yet to be confirmed, as the government awaits free vaccines from the COVAX Facility, coordinated by the WHO and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the minister expounded.

To ensure that the program does not affect the implementation of the national vaccination program, the private sector will use vaccines different from those currently offered by the government, Sadikin revealed. (Antaranews)

Mar. 19 - Finance and central bank deputies from 21 APEC member economies are laying the groundwork for sustainable fiscal management to boost recovery.

This measure was taken after the extraordinary rollout of policy levers to aid in mitigating the wide-ranging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people and businesses in the region, according to the APEC Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting in a written statement received here on Friday.

"As member economies have worked to respond to the economic, social, and health impacts of the pandemic, finance ministries around the region have been at the heart of the government’s decision-making," Caralee McLiesh, the chair of APEC’s Finance and Central Bank Deputies’ Meeting 2021, stated.

McLiesh noted that APEC’s commitment to multilateral cooperation and consensus-building make it the ideal platform for finance ministries to share their experiences and take a cue from each other.

At the two-day virtual meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, policymakers discussed the costs and benefits of the stimulus measures put in place by finance ministries and central banks. They also identified the role they can play in encouraging a strong recovery, as well as handling longer-term systemic challenges.

In her opening remarks, McLiesh -- concurrently the secretary and chief executive to New Zealand’s Treasury -- drew attention to the significance of reinforcing supportive macroeconomic and structural policies as well as reassessing the future of fiscal policy and budget systems to drive an inclusive and sustainable recovery.

The pandemic has compelled APEC member economies to change their budgets to respond to the crisis and act promptly to get money where it was direly required.

A reduction in economic activity and the unprecedented fiscal support has also led to a sharp spike in public debt in several economies.

McLiesh pointed to the comprehensive discussion on the significance of policies to support women, youth, the elderly, rural areas, vulnerable groups, and small- and medium-sized businesses through the recovery.

McLiesh drew attention to the criticality of policies for member economies that revitalize consumer demand, revive business confidence and investment, and create and retain jobs.

"The fiscal pressures resulting from the response to COVID-19 and other long-term challenges make effective structural reforms all the more important," she expounded.

"Structural policies are central to addressing the underlying causes of inequality and minimizing long-term damage to human capital," she stated.

Furthermore, policies in support of green growth and the digital economy are also deemed crucial to drive recovery and sustainability.

The discussion arrived at the two-day finance and central banks deputies’ meeting will be brought forward to the APEC Senior Finance Officials’ Meeting scheduled for June this year. Their recommendations will be offered to APEC finance ministers at their meeting later in October this year. (Antaranews)