The Covid-19 vaccination programme started by Indonesia will help the country fight the spread of the virus and also support its economic recovery, according to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Indonesia launched its vaccination programme earlier this week with President Joko Widodo getting the first shot. Indonesia’s Covid-19 vaccination programme is one of the world’s biggest vaccination campaigns.
“Vaccination is important to break the chain of Covid-19 transmission and give protection to us and safety to every Indonesian and help accelerate economic recovery,” Jokowi said after getting jabbed. Indonesia authorised the CoronaVac vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech, earlier this week.
Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin revealed that nearly 1.5 million medical workers would be inoculated by February. He said that Indonesia needs to vaccinate 181.5 million people, or nearly 67 percent of its population to reach herd immunity. This means the two-shot vaccine would require almost 427 million doses, including the estimate that 15 percent may be wasted.
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartanto has said that Indonesia’s economic situation is expected to improve soon, as the government is preparing a number of recovery plans.
During a virtual discussion the minister said that he expects Indonesia’s economy to pick up. He said, “The signs are already here. The Covid-19 vaccine’s arrival will increase the public’s confidence and sense of security, which should lead them to restarting their activities. The economy is closely related to people’s mobility.”