TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Covid-19 Task Force asserted that issues circulating in the public about microchips that could be contained in the Covid-19 vaccine are false or hoaxes.

"We are observing issues about microchip implants or system management that can track people who have received the vaccine. I emphasize here that the news is a hoax. There is no microchip in the vaccine," said the Covid-19 Task Force spokesman, Wiku Adisasmito, in a press conference broadcasted via the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Wiku explained that the barcode printed on the vaccine bottle served to track the antibody distribution, instead of people who have been inoculated.

“As for barcodes that will likely come with the vaccine, it is printed on the bottle and will not stick to the person who has been injected,” he underlined.

Wiku ensured the confidentiality of information submitted to the government regarding the Covid-19 vaccination process as mandated in Article 58 paragraph 1 of Government Regulation (PP) No. 40 of 2019.

The Covid-19 Task Force hoped that people could be selective in receiving and disseminating information in the wake of rampant hoaxes circulating in society. "People should not recklessly share provocative information, let alone baseless issues," Wiku said.

Read: Kominfo Asks Youtube CEO To Clear COVID-19 Hoaxes

DEWI NURITA