An effective vaccine will be available only in a few months’ time
Jakarta (ANTARA) - COVID-19 Task Force Chief Lt Gen. Doni Monardo emphasized that discipline in following health protocols is the key to breaking the chain of spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) until a vaccine is found.

"Only if we change our outlook by being disciplined and following health protocols can we break the chain of COVID-19 transmission," he noted during an online discussion here on Saturday.

In the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine, discipline in following health protocols is the key for the Indonesian community to break the chain of spread of COVID-19, he stated.

"An effective vaccine will be available only in a few months’ time," he remarked.

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Monardo pointed out that several possibilities abound before the vaccine is found and produced en masse.

A change in outlook that the public must adopt in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic refers to collective awareness and role of the entire nation, he noted.

"Nearly 63 percent of our success in handling COVID-19 rests with the dissemination of information," he stated.

Hence, public communication plays a fundamental and significant role in breaking the chain of transmission of COVID-19, he remarked.

Referring to the significance of public communication, he cited a proverb "know yourself, know your enemy. One thousand times you go to war, one thousand times you will win."

The proverb still holds relevance to the current situation that necessitates the public to be sentient of the dangers of coronavirus, he remarked.

"COVID-19 is dangerous. However, the process of somebody being exposed to it is since someone else carried the virus. Hence, we need to break the chain of spread of COVID-19 to ensure public health," he added.

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Translator: Muhammad Zulfikar/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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