We are going to determine which healthcare facilities will be allowed to administer the COVID-19 vaccines to targeted recipientsAmbon, Maluku (ANTARA) - The Ambon city health office has prepared 55 healthcare facilities to be designated for holding the first phase of the national COVID-19 vaccination program in the near future, a local government official confirmed here, Wednesday.
"We are going to determine which healthcare facilities will be allowed to administer the COVID-19 vaccines to targeted recipients," Head of the Ambon city government's health office, Wendy Pelupessy, stated.
The vaccination can only be conducted at selected healthcare facilities either privately owned or belonging to the central, provincial, or city government.
The healthcare facilities can be hospitals, health clinics, vaccination clinics, public health centers, and healthcare units at the seaport authority, Pelupessy remarked.
"We have visited the available healthcare facilities to observe their feasibleness before determining which of them are credible for administering COVID-19 vaccines to the public," he stated.
For the first phase of the vaccination program to commence on January 14, some 3,762 medical workers are prioritized to be recipients, he remarked.
ANTARA noted that Maluku received 15,120 doses for the first national vaccine distribution process. They were distributed to the province’s districts and cities, including to Ambon.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry had revealed earlier that it would take 15 months to administer vaccines for some 181.5 million people under the national COVID-19 vaccination program.
"We need 15 months to accomplish it. Time frame for conducting the vaccination is counted from January 2021 to March 2022," the Health Ministry's spokesperson for the vaccination program, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, stated on Sunday.
During that period of time, the government had targeted to administer the vaccines to some 181.5 million people, including 1.3 million paramedics and 17.4 million public sector workers in 34 provinces, she remarked.
The first phase of the government's vaccination program was divided into the two periods of January-April 2021 and April 2021-March 2022, according to Tarmizi.
In connection with this vaccination program, the government highlighted the importance of the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI's) fatwa or decision on the halal status of the vaccines.
Indonesian Vice Presidential spokesman Masduki Baidlowi affirmed that the government will not commence administering COVID-19 vaccines without MUI's fatwa or decision about the halal status of the vaccines.
Hence, the COVID-19 vaccine program will be undertaken after MUI’s decision is announced on the halal status of the vaccine regarding whether it is religiously acceptable for consumption according to Muslim law, he noted on Tuesday.
Team members of the Indonesian Ulema Council Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics (LPPOM MUI) have been working on matters related to the halal status of China's Sinovac vaccine, he stated.
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Translator: Penina FM, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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