Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, supported by the USAID is working together to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination uptake nationally through the Breakthrough ACTION for COVID-19 (BA COVID-19) vaccination program. A community event was conducted to launch the SIAP “Semangat Dapat Vaksinasi Lengkap” campaign (SIAP). The SIAP Campaign launch was conducted March 13, 2022, along with the Pandau Village 22nd anniversary celebration that took place at the Pandau Jaya Village Football Field, Kampar District, Riau Province. There were a thousand people from the public involved in the village’s anniversary, with about a hundred elderly participating in the community event. Those who attended the event must comply to the health protocols, as the celebration was done in the amidst of COVID-19 pandemic. 

Riau has been chosen as the pilot among the five provinces the program targets in Indonesia, due to the provincial health office’s track record in properly implementing Penta helix with other stakeholders, such as with the local universities and communities, businesses, and the media. Accordingly, the first community event held by BA COVID-19 also requires such collaboration. 

The activities in the event consisted of health checks and consultation; blood donation; education about health COVID-19 vaccination; aerobics exercise; bazaar; and even facilitation of public administrations, such as vehicle taxes and citizenship. Along with the village celebration, The BA Team launched the SIAP campaign and collaborated with health workers and assisted by Elderly Posyandu Cadres and Students, promoted the event with games to educate the elderly about the importance of vaccination, increasing the knowledge of the elderly regarding vaccines and their barriers using interesting games and questions and answers. As a result, 270 people were vaccinated at the event, and among them were 30 elderly participants. 

Zainal Arifin, The Head of Riau’s Health Office who attended the event, stated that