Health Ministry Provides Drive-Thru COVID-19 Vaccination for Elderly

Ministry of Health continues to take measures to facilitate the public to get access to COVID-19 vaccine, including by among others providing outlets for the elderly and those in travel and tourism sector.

“With this initiative, the elderly does not have to queue for a long time and does not have to travel far to healthcare facilities to get vaccinated,” said the Spokesperson of the COVID-19 National Task Force Wiku Adisasmito on Thursday (04/03) at Graha BNPB, East Jakarta.

For the record, the elderly who has Jakarta-issued e-KTP (Indonesian ID Card) are allowed to have access to the drive-thru vaccination service located in the Parking Lot Hall C of the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

This drive-thru vaccination program is a joint collaboration between Ministry of Health, online healthcare platform Halodoc, and ride-hailing app GoJek that has been done since Wednesday (03/03).

Visitors who have registered on Halodoc Apps can get the vaccine from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.

Through this innovative service, it is hoped that the number of vaccination queues for the elderly at healthcare facilities in capital Jakarta can be cut. The move is also expected to make it easier for the elderly to get access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“The public needs to know that the collaboration between the Government, Halodoc, and GoJek is not a commercialization of the COVID-19 vaccination program. It is free of charge. This collaboration aims to boost vaccination rate in capital Jakarta Province,” added Wiku.

Furthermore, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy also collaborate with ride-hailing app Grab and online healthcare platform Grab Doctor to provide drive-thru vaccination service for travel and tourism actors in the resort island of Bali.

The first batch at the vaccination center in Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center was carried out from 27 February and will be finished on 5 March 2021, while the second batch will be done on 13 – 19 March 2021.

The program is also free of charge and is expected to rapidly create community immunity and to rebuild travel and tourism sector in the island.

Shortly after the vaccination, both Jakarta and Bali, there will be an 30-minute observation period aimed to detect earlier if there are side effects of vaccination or not.

However, if there were no complaints from vaccinated people during observation period, they were allowed to go home. A certificate of vaccination participation will be sent via SMS. (KCPEN/UN) (AP/EP)