TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesia starts vaccinating seniors, but many confused by online registration, long queues
The process to vaccinate elderly people has been marred by long queues due to confusion and technical limitations of the online registration system.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
An elderly man shows his COVID-19 vaccination card at SD 05 state elementary school in Penggilingan, North Jakarta on Feb. 25, 2021. Indonesia is targeting to inoculate some 21 million elderly people aged 60 and above and 17 million essential workers in the second phase of vaccination, which started on Feb. 17. (Antara/Fakhri Hermansyah)
T
he government has rolled out its COVID-19 vaccination drive for elderly people across the country, one of the groups deemed vulnerable to the coronavirus. However, the process has been marred by long queues due to confusion and technical limitations of the online registration system.
On Feb. 15, the Health Ministry announced the health authorities would roll out a vaccination drive for people aged 60 years and above. For the first phase of the drive, they would focus on inoculating the elderly in provincial capitals across the country.
Then on Feb. 19, authorities distributed the link to online registration for the program via WhatsApp .
Shortly after, however, the Health Ministry said the links were void and the official ones would be available on the national COVID-19 task force’s website. The ministry added that it would still process registrations done through the previous link.
The new link redirects registrants to the same Google Forms accessed through the previous link. The forms asked registrants for their personal data, but there were no questions about comorbidities.
The provincial health agency is assigned to process the data as well as provide an appointment and a vaccination center for registrants.
Read also: Has Indonesia followed science in COVID-19 response? Perhaps not
