Indonesia plans to vaccinate two thirds of its 270 million residents over the next 15 months. Unlike in the rest of the world, however, the younger ones between the ages of 18 and 59 should be vaccinated first.
By Lena Bodewein, ARD Studio Singapore
With a smile, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo rolls up his sleeve and has the country’s first vaccination missed – “it didn’t hurt at all,” he says and then goes to the microphone: “The Covid-19 vaccination is an important step in closing the chain of infection break through to protect our health and all of us, “he proclaims. “It gives the people of Indonesia back their peace of mind.”
Widodo beams as if he has now received that peace of mind by injection. The president is 59 years old – and thus just in the target group of those who should be the first to be vaccinated in Indonesia. After the medical staff, officials and religious leaders, it should be the 18 to 59 year olds first. There are several reasons for this: on the one hand, the Chinese vaccine has only been tested on them in Indonesia, so the elderly should wait until the Ministry of Health can inform them about the safety of the vaccine, it is officially said. On the other hand: “It will help to stimulate the economy again,” said Widodo.
According to the old rule: “It’s the economy, stupid.” The working population should first be given security so that they can go back to work, but do not bring the disease home to the old and the weak – many Indonesians live in multi-generational households.
The vaccination appointment comes by SMS
This vaccination strategy is the opposite of the usual worldwide, but it meets with approval – as with 35-year-old Aninda Fauzia: “I think it’s right to start with the productive boys, because after the pandemic it is important that the economy is back in Gang is coming. And this age group is the one who works hard and is in public. “
Fauzia herself has an autoimmune disease and therefore cannot be vaccinated at this point. She’ll have to wait for further research to guarantee her safety, she says: “But whoever has the chance of a vaccination shouldn’t waste it, I’m serious.” Around 25,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Indonesia so far, there have been around 860,000 infections, and the number of cases is rising rapidly.
In the country that is fixed on mobile phones, where the most important things in daily life are handled via mobile phones, SMS is sent to inform them who will get a vaccination appointment and when. And then you shouldn’t refuse it either – otherwise you face a year in prison and a hundred million rupiah fine, the equivalent of 6,000 euros.
Indonesians advocate vaccination strategy
The government has also selected influencers for the first public vaccination aimed at reaching the younger audience. It seems to work, as with Sebastianus, 41 years old: “I am in favor of the strategy of vaccinating the boys first, because they are the generation that should shoulder the development of the country,” he says. Covid affects not only health, but all aspects of life – socially and economically. “And that is why I am ready to be vaccinated as my contribution to protecting society,” says Sebastianus. He doesn’t mind that it’s the Chinese vaccine Sinovac – if the Indonesian health authorities have given their okay, then it’s safe.
The vaccination fulfills the minimum effectiveness of 50 percent specified by the World Health Organization: In clinical tests among Indonesians between 18 and 59 years of age, it had an effectiveness of 65.3 percent.
180 million vaccinations in 15 months
In addition, the Chinese version of the vaccine does not require cooling temperatures as low as others – an important factor in a country that is on the equator, where temperatures are consistently tropical. In addition, the vaccination has been declared halal, i.e. pure, by the Supreme Council of Muslims in Indonesia – this is also crucial in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
“But even if it weren’t,” says a 19-year-old Koran student, “it would be okay: This is an emergency, and according to the Prophet Mohammed’s recordings, non-halal medicine can also be used in emergencies.”
180 million of Indonesia’s 270 million residents are slated to be vaccinated over the next 15 months. The country stretches over 5,000 kilometers on 17,000 islands, and many places can only be reached by ferry, plane or bad roads. Vaccination across the country is an ambitious undertaking, regardless of whether you start with the old or the young.
