Institut Teknologi Bandung

The first speaker, Chief of BPOM RI, Penny K. Lukita, explained the credibility of BPOM in vaccine supervision. Penny, a graduate of Environmental Engineering ITB, said that the credibility of vaccine supervision is an important thing, "The supervision will save us. The BPOM RI has been assessed by WHO through the Global Benchmarking Assessment in 2018 in relation to the maturity of a drug control institution. Of the 9 indicators, an assessment was carried out 1-4 and BPOM scored 3 and 4 for the nine indicators," she stated. With good credibility, BPOM will guarantee the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Furthermore, in the vaccine procurement process, Bio Farma, a pharmacy company, has three vaccination strategies. The Director of Bio Farma, Honesti Basyir, revealed that the first strategy is a short-term strategy to get access by importing it. Honesti, alumni of Industrial Engineering ITB, said that Indonesia needs to secure 360 million doses for making herd immunity.

Therefore, for the mid-term strategy, Bio Farma is not only importing but partly self-made and produced. "This strategy does not only depend on vaccine supply, but also can make and produce vaccines," he added.

And the last is a long-term strategy. In this strategy, Honesti hopes that Indonesia will master cutting-edge technology in terms of the COVID-19 vaccine. "We will make domestic-made vaccines, namely Vaksin Merah Putih, which are currently being developed by several parties, including ITB.

On the one hand, from an infrastructure perspective, the Minister of Health, an ITB Nuclear Physics alumnus, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, assessed that Indonesia's infrastructure is ready for vaccine distribution. In the webinar, he said that Indonesia conducts vaccinations such as diphtheria, tuberculosis, polio, smallpox, and rubella so that the infrastructure is ready every year. "During the New Order era, Puskesmas in Indonesia were prepared to face vaccinations, such as providing a storage area for vaccines," he added.

However, Budi Gunadi assessed that the government should increase vaccine storage capacity up to five times. To support this, Budi asks private companies and BUMNs for a collaboration.

Lastly, Budi Gunadi advised that if there was a shortage in the vaccination process, the public could provide a report. The report would be reviewed by the government immediately. He also hopes that the public will remain patient for vaccination due to the limited number of vaccines.

Reporter: Deo Fernando (Entrepreneurship, 2018)
Translator : Billy Akbar Prabowo (Metallurgical Engineering 2020)