Don’t go crazy, try again

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – President Joko Widodo emphasized the importance of public communication in the implementation of Covid-19 vaccination.

Jokowi did not want the vaccination information to be misrepresented, prompting public rejection.

“It was explained correctly, it had to be detailed, don’t get hit by problems, let it go wrong, then the demonstration community happened again. Because now the community is in a difficult position,” Jokowi said in a limited meeting at the Palace. Merdeka, Jakarta, on Monday (10/19/2020).

Jokowi said that several things need to be explained in detail to the public, such as who will get this vaccine first and why.

Then, it should also be explained who will get the vaccine for free and who will pay for it.

Also read: On the Covid-19 vaccine, Minister of Communication and Information: Do not let public space be filled with deception

Also matters related to halal, price and distribution issues. To that end, Jokowi asked his staff to be careful and not rush to communicate with the public.

“If communication is not good, it could happen like this Employment Creation Law,” he said.

The government had previously finalized the purchase of vaccines for Covid-19 from three producing companies, namely Cansino, G42 / Sinopharm and Sinovac. All three companies agreed to provide vaccines to Indonesia in November.

The number of vaccines covered by each company varies, depending on production capacity and commitments to other buyers.

Also read: There is still no powerful vaccine against Covid-19, why do vaccines start in November?

The government admits that the vaccines from all three companies are currently in the final stages of the third phase of clinical trials. However, all three vaccines are already in the process of obtaining an emergency use authorization (USA) in several countries.

University of Indonesia epidemiologist Pandu Riono criticized the government’s decision to finalize the purchase of vaccines from the three companies.

Pandu assessed that the government should have waited until the three candidate vaccines passed clinical trials. That way, you can know for sure if the vaccine is really effective against the corona virus and does not cause side effects.