5 January 2021

As promised by the Central Government of Indonesia, Bali has been prioritized as one of the first regions to receive Covid-19 in the country once available. The Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, welcomed the first batch vaccine’s arrival at 00.33 Bali Time, Tuesday (5/1/2021) accompanied by the Bali Police Chief Officer and Bali commander National Army.

PT. Bio Farma, located in Bandung, West Java, appointed pharmaceutical companies to mass-produce the Covid-19 vaccine in the country has sent 31 thousand vaccines to Bali. 

The vaccine is currently stored in Bali Health Service’s cold room before being distributed to all regions in the island. Health workers will surely to receive this first batch of vaccination program. “The recipients of the first phase of vaccination is health workers working in the frontline, estimated around 30,320 people. Distribution to cities and districts will be managed by the central POM (National Agency of Drug and Food Control) and will be carried out by the Health Office,” said Koster.

Bali Governor also stated that he was ready to receive this first phase of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine. The action is to set an example of the importance of vaccination. Besides, he also asked the public to believe in the policies taken by the central government.

According to Koster, vaccination is an option made by the government to overcome Covid-19, and other countries are also doing the same. Therefore, the central government’s decision must have gone through researches and studies, with all the considerations from many aspects. “I urge the public to trust the central government policy, and if there are directions for vaccination, then we must carry it out by following the standards of procedure,” he added.

The details of the number of vaccine recipients in each region are as follows: 

1. Jembrana will receive vaccines for 1,533 people,
2. Tabanan 3,118 people, 
3. Badung 5,551 people, 
4. Gianyar 3,134 people, 
5. Klungkung for 1,691 people, 
6. Bangli for 1,246 people, 
7. Karangasem for 1,074 people, 
8. Buleleng for 3,590 people, 
9. Denpasar for 9,383 people.

By the end of December, Thursday (31/12/2020), Indonesia again had received 1.8 million COVID-19 vaccines from Sinovac. In total, there are about 3 million vaccines made by Sinovac that Indonesia has received. 

However, according to the Indonesia Minister of Health, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, it does not mean that Covid-19 will pass shortly from the country. He encouraged everyone to be disciplined in implementing health protocols as the vaccination program will take more than a year to complete. “The vaccination program is one of the main strategies to solve this pandemic problem. It would take more than 12 months for us to complete this vaccination program. For that, friends, don’t forget always to obey health protocols, ” said Sadikin.