Indonesia Highlights: Indonesian Doctors Association: Covid-19 Killed Over 700 Medical Personnel | Indonesian Health Minister to Offer Sinovac and Pfizer Vaccines for Child Jab | Indonesia Adds Isolat

Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government "is considering the use of the Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines for children," following findings that kids are particularly vulnerable to the Delta variant of the pandemic.

"We will be observing how the United States and European countries carry out vaccinations to children, or whether they will vaccinate them according to their [age] groups," Budi asserted.

He cited global statistics which showed that Covid-19 recovery rates in children aged 18 years and under showed 99 percent of them can be cured, as compared to those age group 18 years and over. 

Previously, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) and the Indonesian Pediatirician Association (IDAI) has urged the government to administer Covid-19 vaccines to children.

"The Covid-19 vaccine is safe for children. The policy should start immediately and be carried out simultaneously with the start of face-to-face classes," said IDI chairman Daeng M Faqih.

"The vaccines should orientate the faculty and students of schools about the measure's importance along with health protocol, along with need to sterilize the school grounds."

Indonesia's recent Covid-19 surge has thrown the government's plan to start face-to-face classes for the 2021-2022 school year in limbo.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/06/26/021716674/indonesian-health-minister-to-offer-sinovac-and-pfizer-vaccines-for-child-jab?page=all#page2. 

Indonesia Adds Isolation Wards in Designated Low-Cost Housing

The Indonesian Ministry of Health has added an extra 7,000 isolation beds, a day after the country noted its largest number of daily Covid-19 cases at 20,574 on Thursday, June 24.

“The number is twice as much as those in the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta,” said Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a virtual press conference Friday.

“The isolation wards, which are for asymptomatic patients or those with mild symptoms, are located in low-cost housing complexes at the Nagrak and Pasar Rumput areas. 4,000 of the beds are in the former, while the remainder, or 3,000 beds, make up the latter.”

Budi hopes the new isolation wards can ease the pressure on Wisma Atlet,

He added that Wisma Atlet will treat patients with moderate symptoms, while those with more serious symptoms will be treated at Jakarta hospitals designated to treat Covid-19 cases. The government has designated the Fatmawati, Sulianti Saroso, and Persahabatan hospitals as centers to treat Covid-19.

Jakarta led the way in the pandemic’s recent daily surge, with 7,505 new cases.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/06/26/062555074/indonesia-adds-isolation-wards-in-designated-low-cost-housing.