Indonesian Health Minister Gunadi announced on the 5th that the country will start a national large-scale vaccination program for the novel coronavirus vaccine on January 13.
The plan will be launched in the capital Jakarta, and President Joko will be the first to be vaccinated.” Voice of America Indonesia Channel said on the 5th that Buddy, head of the Indonesian presidential secretariat, confirmed the news on the same day, and said that President Joko would be inoculated against the coronavirus vaccine developed by Kexing Company in Beijing, China.
He said President Joko will be vaccinated with the public and military representatives, and the event will be broadcast on television for public witness and increase confidence in the vaccine.
Reuters said on the 5th that as the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia is the most affected country in Southeast Asia. The Indonesian Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) said that it would soon approve the emergency use of Kochen vaccine.
The department has previously said that it hopes to approve emergency use licenses after studying the mid-term clinical trial data of Kochen vaccine in Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey. Indonesia has ordered 125.5 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine from Kochen, and has received 3 million doses, which have been distributed nationwide from January 3, according to the report.
According to VOA, Professor Wiku, spokesman of the Indonesian government’s coronavirus response team, said on the 5th that the distribution of Kochen vaccine before BPOM issued an emergency use authorization is to improve time efficiency and ensure an equal supply of vaccines.
The Japanese Times said that the Indonesian government has set a target of 245 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
In addition to Kohing, the Indonesian government also plans to obtain vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and other manufacturers, and considers developing domestic vaccines to supplement the supply.
Bloomberg said that Indonesia will become the first country in Southeast Asia to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
However, unlike many countries around the world that prioritize the elderly and the weak, Indonesia plans to take the lead in vaccinating the young working population, and medical staff, police and military personnel will take the lead in vaccination.
Amin, director of the Ekman Institute of Molecular Biology in Indonesia, told Bloomberg that this is to achieve herd immunity effect.
He pointed out that after vaccination, the most active and exposed people aged 18 to 59 can form a “barrier” to protect other age groups.
Kumarianto, a member of Indonesia’s Bioethics Committee, said that developed countries can start vaccination from the elderly because they know that there will be enough doses to cover the whole population, which is not the case for Indonesia.
“There are no good choices, only the least bad choices. When Indonesia’s vaccine is only enough to vaccinate those most likely to infect others, they should be vaccinated first. “No one can be too arbitrary about what is right,” Reuters quoted experts as saying.
“It is valuable for Indonesia to take a different approach different from the United States and Europe. Whether this strategy works better or not can only be told by time.”
