ER
SEVERAL travel agents in the country have started advertising tour packages as well as COVID-19 vaccinations to several cities and states in the United States (US). The package is offered with prices starting from tens of millions of rupiahs with a visit time of one to two weeks.
According to the Chairperson of the Indonesian Travel Agent Association (Astindo) DPP, Pauline Suharno, this is inseparable from the ease of the COVID-19 vaccination process in the US. As is known, the COVID-19 vaccine in Uncle Sam’s country can be easily obtained by anyone in various places, from pharmacies to modern retail outlets such as Walmart.
In addition, the absence of quarantine rules as usual for immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic has also become a magnet for Indonesian people to visit there.
“Because it’s easy to get vaccines there, it can be on the spot at pharmacies or supermarkets. Moreover, there is also a vaccine that can be given in one dose [administered] and by some people it is believed that it is also better than the vaccine being given here at this time,” she said.
For the record, one type of COVID-19 vaccine used in the US is the Janssen vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The vaccine is a single dose vaccine or only needs to be injected once into the recipient.
Pauline admitted that not a few people from the upper classes asked Astindo members about tour packages as well as COVID-19 vaccinations in the US. They generally ask about the requirements that are met before leaving the US and the type of vaccine that will be received. However, not all of them actually went to the US. Some of them are still undecided and others are still waiting for their visas to be issued by the US Government.
“Not all of them leave, because getting the [US] visa is not easy. Only those who already have a visa will leave. But usually those who go there have business there, such as their child’s graduation or want to visit their family,” she noted.
Besides the US, other countries that also provide opportunities for tourists to get vaccines in their country are the United Arab Emirates, Maldives and Russia. However, these countries are not in demand because they use two doses of vaccine and still implement quarantine policies for migrants.
Furthermore, Pauline revealed that several consumers had revealed the reasons why they decided to go to the US to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The most frequently cited reasons are the complicated vaccination process in the country and avoiding the risk of exposure in crowded vaccination areas.
“It’s not clear when it will be obtained here, the registration is also confusing. Not to mention there are queues that risk exposure and waste time. In the US, you can come directly to the prepared places without queuing, you can just fill out the form,” she undelined.
Meanwhile, epidemiologist from Australia’s Griffith University Dicky Budiman said it was basically legal for someone who had the financial means to go abroad to get the vaccine early or the type of vaccine they wanted.
“However, those who decide to take vaccinations abroad must consider several things. One of them is not returning to Indonesia immediately after receiving a second injection for Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccine recipients. The same is true for recipients of the Janssen single-dose vaccine from Johnson and Johnson,” he said.
Dicky Budiman added that his return must have had the second injection and two weeks after the second injection for the vaccine to work effectively, not bringing new variants or viruses to Indonesia. Two weeks after the new vaccine is allowed to enter, it’s still a PCR test. [bisnis.com/photo special]
