TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Health Ministry appealed to local governments to accelerate the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program for health workers over concerns about the vaccines' expiration date, which was only six months.

“Complete the phase-one vaccination for healthcare workers before we deliver the next supply of vaccines,” said the Acting Director-General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry, dr. Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, in an online discussion in Jakarta, Monday, February 15.

Maxi expressed concerns that if the inoculation program was not carried out quickly, the first stage supply of the COVID-19 vaccines would expire and unusable.

Besides, Indonesia has a limited amount of ready-to-use COVID-19 vaccines so that the existing supply must be used as well as possible.

The government was set to kick off the second phase targeting public service workers and the elderly people as the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination was nearly complete, he added.

Regarding registration, Maxi explained that each institution could register its members online. Meanwhile, for the elderly group, the Health Ministry will coordinate with the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration of the Home Affairs Ministry and the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

Read: Phase 2 COVID-19 Vaccination to Commence Soon, Govt Says

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