8 October 2020 

Indonesia is making very good progress in terms of vaccine development for Coronavirus pandemic. Mr President Joko Widodo has signed and issued a Presidential Decree No. 99/2020 on 5 October 2020 at Jakarta; this regulation explains about the roles of the Health Ministry in provisioning, distribution and manage the whole vaccination process in the country. The decree also assigns state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma to procure the vaccine in cooperation with other international institutions. However, before massively distributed to everyone in the country; medical workers, military and law enforcement personnel, will be prioritized for vaccination. 

Luckily, Bali has been chosen as one of the first regions in Indonesia to receive the first badge of vaccines once available. A simulation for Covid-19 vaccination was conducted in Bali’s state-own health clinic Puskesmas Abiansemal I for two days, 5-6 October 2020. This simulation aims to test the procedures and to prepare medical workers for the actual event most likely by the early of 2021. All things went well during the trial; all authorities are optimistic that Bali will be a good sample for other regions in Indonesia. 

Though it was only a simulation, the Secretary of the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control, M Budi Hidayat, ensures that all the vaccines given to participants have clinically tested and successfully passed series of trials. The head of Puskesmas Abiansemal I, Ni Nyoman Rai Sukadani, explained the details on how to get a Covid-19 vaccination in health clinics or vaccine providers:

1. Participants will undergo a screening process to find out whether the person has comorbid diseases or not. Suppose the participant is indicated to have comorbidities and coexisting conditions. In that case, they will be directed to a general examination room, then given a referral letter to be transported to the hospital. Those who passed the screening process will receive the first stage of vaccination.
2. After the injection, participants must wait for another 30 minutes to see if there is any personal side effect. While waiting, the officer will give a short briefing on health protocols. If there is no side-effect shown, then the participant will be allowed to go home.
3. The participants are required to visit the clinic/ vaccine providers after two weeks to receive the second vaccination.

Per 7 October 2020, Indonesia reported 4,538 new coronavirus infections, which pushed the total number to 315,714, with 11,472 of fatalities and 63.951 active cases. While in Bali, there are 105 new coronavirus infections, 9625 in total, with 306 deaths and 1154 active cases.