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BPJS Ketenagakerjaan draws up list of COVID-19 vaccine recipients
It remains unclear what criteria will be used to determine which BPJS participants will be put on the vaccine recipient list.
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Health workers inject COVID-19 vaccine into a civil servant during a vaccine drive simulation at Udayana Military Command in Denpasar, Bali, on Dec. 10. (Antara/Nyoman Hendra Wibowo)
T
he Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan) is drawing up a list of its participants that will be vaccinated for COVID-19, with the first phase of a national vaccination drive expected to be rolled out next year.
BPJS Ketenagakerjaan chief Agus Susanto said the agency’s participants would not only gain social security benefits, but also a slot in the government's upcoming COVID-19 vaccination program.
“The agency has been ordered to prepare the list of workers who are eligible to receive the vaccine,” Agus said during a Forum Merdeka Barat teleconference on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.id.
However, he did not elaborate further on the criteria that would determine which BPJS Ketenagakerjaan participants would be put on the vaccine recipient list.
BPJS Ketenagakerjaan categorizes its participants into workers who receive remuneration, workers who do not receive remuneration, construction service workers and Indonesian migrant workers.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo previously announced that the forthcoming COVID-19 vaccination drive would be made free of charge, as the state looks to quell criticism over assertions that it would only fund inoculation for a third of the population targeted in the program.
Speaking in an official video published on Wednesday, Jokowi said he would make the vaccine available without cost in order to build trust among the people and show that it would be safe to use.
Read also: Jokowi announces ‘free’ COVID-19 vaccines for all
"After receiving much input from the public and recalculating the financial state of the country, I would like to inform you that COVID-19 vaccines for the people will be free. Once again, it will be free of charge," he said.
The President also said he would be the first Indonesian to get a vaccine shot. As a result of this decision, all Cabinet ministries and institutions as well as regional administrations were instructed to prioritize the vaccination program in their respective 2021 budgets.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani is also expected to prioritize and reallocate state funds for vaccine procurement and roll-out so that there would not be any reason for people not to get inoculated, Jokowi said.
He did not, however, provide further details on a timeline or a list of vaccines that would be used in the country. There was also no mention of the number of people targeted in the vaccination program.
Sri Mulyani reportedly allocated Rp 169.7 trillion (US$12 billion) for COVID-19 health handling in 2020. The budget includes Rp 60.5 trillion for the vaccination drive.
The vaccination drive budget includes Rp 18 trillion for vaccine procurement, Rp 3.7 trillion for running the vaccination program and Rp 1.3 trillion for laboratory facility procurement.
In vaccine development, the government has allocated Rp 1.2 trillion for research, development and procurement of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests as well as Rp 100 billion for the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) to evaluate the quality, safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. (nkn)
