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Vaccine hesitancy in the predominantly Muslim country can be attributed to fears that shots other than Sinovac’s, made in China, are “halal. “
Doctors prepare the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to be injected into potential vaccine recipients on February 2, 2021 in Kolaka, Indonesia.
Indonesia has particularly recovered from a mid-year surge in coronavirus cases and deaths that is one of the worst in the region, but with its vaccination campaign stalled due to demanding logistical situations and other issues, and with the holidays approaching, experts and officials warn. You may soon face another wave.
Indonesia began its vaccination program earlier than any other Southeast Asian country, on Jan. 13, and as infection and death rates soared in July and August, expanded its program to more than a million vaccinations per day.
But as the fourth most populous country in the world, it had a lot more work to do than the rest of the countries, and today it is only 33% fully vaccinated and 16% partially vaccinated, far from its smaller neighbor, Malaysia, which has 76% fully vaccinated. according to our. The global data.
Most of the vaccines have been distributed in the maximum urban spaces of the larger islands of Java and Bali, while many smaller, rural islands, where fitness systems are rudimentary and the population tends to be older, have not been vaccinated, he said. Dicky Budiman, Indonesian epidemiologist and education adviser to the government.
As more people return to those spaces over the holidays, the threat of spreading the virus to those populations, some of which have partially gone through isolation, is greater, he said.
“It’s possibly not as bad as what we saw in July and August, but if we look at maybe the first wave, in January 2020, maybe it’s similar because of its vulnerability,” he said. Declares.
Since Indonesia started its vaccination program early, its effectiveness is also more likely to decline now, he said. Boosters are planned, but may not begin until early 2022.
The government is urging others to avoid travelling as much as they can and has tightened restrictions in all provinces over Christmas and New Year; however, some 20 million more people are expected to spend their holidays on the popular islands of Java and Bali during the holidays.
Budiman said the country is ramping up the vaccination program now as cases are declining and fitness systems are not overwhelmed.
Indonesia has reported more than 4. 25 million cases and 143,000 deaths from COVID-19 among its 270 million people. At the peak of the latest wave in July, the number of cases was 56,757 per day, with hospitals plagued by patients with health problems and operating without beds or oxygen supplies.
With a poor track record of testing and reporting cases, many have questioned the official figures and the Department of Health admitted this week that there had likely been around 4 times as many cases as officially listed.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, noted that a study on antibodies in citizens of Jakarta earlier this year indicated that about 50 percent of citizens in the capital were infected with COVID-19.
Budiman said his own studies suggest that 30-35% of Indonesia’s population has had COVID-19, which may be just a glimmer of hope for the vaccination cloud, as many have reportedly developed herbal immunity against the virus.
“But we are still very far from the herd immunity threshold and we know that immunity from both vaccines and infections is declining,” he said.
Beyond distribution disruptions in remote areas, Muslim-majority Indonesia faces growing doubts about vaccines, as many non-Sinovac shots, made in China, are not “halal” or allowed under Islamic law, despite the fact that the Indonesian Ulema Council, the highest Islamic body, He has said that all vaccines are allowed.
Safrizal Rahman, director of the Indonesian Medical Association in Aceh province on the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra, said the government deserves to reach out to local devout leaders to promote vaccines.
“We have to make them a priority, they are role models for society,” he told The Associated Press.
Aceh has lately had about 35% of its population partially vaccinated, up from 30% in September, and is facing headwinds in addition to the growing proliferation of misinformation, he said.
“Our schooling is still inadequate for what other people learn on social media,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are many hoaxes circulating on social media, but they have more influence on society than what is discovered in official sources. “
It didn’t help that the prominent voice of former Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, who served time for corruption, one of the sources, advised against getting vaccinated by invoking completely debunked conspiracy theories.
As the number of cases has declined recently, the sense of urgency to get vaccinated has also decreased, with the World Health Organization noting a sharp decline in the number of vaccines administered for three consecutive weeks; The most recent was an 11. 3% drop from November. 15 to 21.
The government will restart the procedure and will acquire 102 million doses of vaccines in December through purchases and donations from other countries.
More cold garage warehouses are also being added, so the province has at least one facility equipped to store large quantities.
Pointing to the recent resurgence of the spread of the virus in Europe, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadiki suggested earlier this week that other people should not be swayed by a false sense of security in the face of the low number of cases.
He is under pressure to take any vaccine available, noting that AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna have all proven to be more effective than the more popular Sinovac.
“Don’t worry, those vaccines have been proven to be safe, don’t hesitate to get vaccinated immediately,” he said. “Let’s not let what happens in Europe happen to us,” he added.
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Indonesia has particularly recovered from a mid-year surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, one of the worst in the region, but with its vaccination campaign stalled due to demanding logistical situations and other issues, and with the holidays approaching, experts and officials warn. You may soon face a wave.
Indonesia began its vaccination program earlier than any other Southeast Asian country, on Jan. 13, and as infection and death rates soared in July and August, expanded its program to more than a million vaccinations per day.
But as the fourth most populous country in the world, it had a lot more work to do than the rest of the countries, and today it is only 33% fully vaccinated and 16% partially vaccinated, far from its smaller neighbor, Malaysia, which has 76% fully vaccinated. according to our. The global data.
Most vaccines have been distributed in the maximum urban spaces of the larger islands of Java and Bali, while many smaller, rural islands, where fitness systems are rudimentary and the population tends to be older, have not been vaccinated, he said. Dicky Budiman, Indonesian epidemiologist and government educational advisor.
As more people return to those spaces over the holidays, the threat of spreading the virus to those populations, some of which have partially gone through isolation, is greater, he said.
“It won’t be as bad as what we saw in July and August, but if we look at the first wave, in January 2020, it could be similar because of its vulnerability,” he said.
Since Indonesia started its vaccination program early, its effectiveness is also more likely to decline now, he said. Boosters are planned, but may not begin until early 2022.
The government is urging others to avoid travel as much as possible and has tightened restrictions in all provinces over Christmas and New Year, but some 20 million more people are expected to spend their holidays on the popular islands of Java and Bali during the festive season.
Budiman said the country is stepping up the vaccination program now, as cases are declining and fitness systems are not overwhelmed.
Indonesia has reported more than 4. 25 million cases and 143,000 deaths from COVID-19 among its 270 million people. At the height of the latest wave in July, the number of cases was 56,757 per day, with hospitals hit by patients with health problems and no beds and oxygen supplies.
With a poor track record on testing and case reporting, many have questioned the official figures and the Ministry of Health admitted this week that there have probably been around 4 times as many cases as officially recorded.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, noted that a study on antibodies in citizens of Jakarta earlier this year indicated that about 50 percent of citizens in the capital were infected with COVID-19.
Budiman said his own studies suggest that 30-35% of Indonesia’s population has had COVID-19, which may be just a glimmer of hope for the vaccination cloud, as many have reportedly developed herbal immunity against the virus.
“But we are still a long way from the herd immunity threshold and we know that immunity from both vaccines and infections is waning,” he said.
Beyond distribution problems in remote areas, Muslim-majority Indonesia is facing growing doubts about vaccines, as many non-Sinovac shots, made in China, are not “halal” or allowed under Islamic law, even though the Indonesian Ulema Council, the top Islamic body, said all vaccines were authorized.
Safrizal Rahman, head of the Indonesian Medical Association in Aceh province, on the northwestern tip of Sumatra island, said the government deserves to reach out to local devout leaders to promote vaccines.
“We have to make them a priority, they are role models for society,” he told The Associated Press.
Aceh has lately had about 35% of its population partially vaccinated, up from 30% in September, and is facing headwinds in addition to the growing proliferation of misinformation, he said.
“Our schooling remains inadequate for what other people learn on social media,” he said. “Unfortunately, there are many hoaxes circulating on social media, but they have more influence on society than what is discovered in official sources. “
It didn’t help that the prominent voice of former Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, who served time for corruption, one of the sources, advised against getting vaccinated by invoking completely debunked conspiracy theories.
As the number of cases has declined recently, the sense of urgency to get vaccinated has diminished, and the World Health Organization has observed a sharp decline in the number of vaccines administered for three consecutive weeks; The most recent was an 11. 3% drop from November. 15 to 21.
The government will reactivate the procedure and acquire 102 million doses of vaccine in December through purchases and donations from other countries.
More white garage facilities are also being added, so that the province has at least one facility equipped to store large quantities.
Pointing to the recent resurgence of the spread of the virus in Europe, Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin suggested earlier this week that other people should not be swayed by a false sense of security amid the low number of cases.
He is under pressure to take any available vaccine, noting that AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna have proven more effective than the more popular Sinovac.
“Don’t worry, those vaccines have been proven to be safe, don’t hesitate to get vaccinated immediately,” he said. “Let’s not let what happens in Europe happen to us,” he added.
Indonesia has particularly recovered from a mid-year surge in coronavirus cases and deaths, one of the worst in the region, but with its vaccination campaign stalled due to demanding logistical situations and other issues, and with the holidays approaching, experts and officials warn. You may soon face a wave.
Indonesia began its vaccination program earlier than any other Southeast Asian country, on Jan. 13, and as infection and death rates soared in July and August, it expanded its program to more than a million vaccinations per day.