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Southeast Asia’s largest country is on the brink of a new wave of infections.
A administers a COVID-19 vaccine to a patient in Batang, Indonesia, March 15, 2021.
Indonesia has outlined plans to dramatically increase the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as the country battles the persistent outbreak of the virus, setting an ambitious target of one million vaccinations per day until next month.
Speaking to reporters in Depok, near the capital Jakarta, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he expected the country to manage 700,000 doses a day this month and then ramp them up again. “So by July we will be able to achieve the target of 1 million vaccinations per day,” he said, according to Reuters. Over the past week, Indonesia has distributed around 260,000 vaccines per day, according to figures from BNPB, its national crisis mitigation agency.
Indonesia is already the worst-affected country in Southeast Asia, with 1. 87 million infections and 51,990 deaths, and the fourth most affected country in the world in terms of population.
Given its inability to completely eradicate the virus, Indonesia’s government has been proactive in finding vaccines to vaccinate its 270 million people. Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, it has relied heavily on China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm, but has also secured vaccine deliveries from the United States. the corporate Moderna and the British AstraZeneca.
In January, the government launched its nationwide campaign to vaccinate 181. 5 million people over the course of 2021, but vaccine distribution has been hampered by logistical and supply issues. As of June 8, only 18. 26 million Indonesians had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a figure that reaches only 6. 68% of its population.
But the slow rollout of the vaccine has received a new boost due to the continued spread of COVID-19. Having slightly contained the last wave that peaked in January and February, the country is on the brink of a new wave of infections, due to the spread of more contagious variants and a resulting surge in travel during the Eid al-Fitr holiday last month. Jokowi’s comments came on the same day Indonesia recorded 7,725 new coronavirus infections, the largest single-day increase since late February.
Seventeen regions of the country are recently classified as “red zones”, subject to a ban on public gatherings of more than three people and closure at 8:00 p. m. The Indonesian government has recruited more doctors and nurses in two areas of the islands of Java and Madura that have noticed giant clusters of cases.
Meanwhile, the health government has banned Indonesian Muslims from performing the haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, sinking a local tourism industry worth about $3 billion a year for the second year. They also opened up COVID-19 vaccination to anyone over the age of 18 in Jakarta, one of the hotbeds of recent outbreaks, to push the capital toward herd immunity. Officials expect cases to continue to rise in June and July, but they hope the immediate distribution of vaccines will help bring the numbers down.
Jokowi’s goal of one million vaccinations a day is, to say the least, optimistic. As of May 31, Indonesia had only about 76 million doses of vaccines ready to use, according to Reuters, but in reality, their distribution to the population will be limited to the demanding situations that arise in the country’s sprawling island geography.
But there is a good chance that Jokowi’s leadership has learned lessons from last year’s difficult situations. Even if it fails to meet its self-imposed target, which is likely, the government obviously recognizes that the only refuge for Southeast Asia’s largest country is one in which the country is achieving widespread and immediate vaccination – as temporarily as possible. .
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Indonesia has outlined plans to dramatically increase distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as the country battles the persistent outbreak of the virus, setting an ambitious goal of one million vaccinations per day until next month.
Speaking to reporters in Depok, near the capital Jakarta, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he expected the country to manage 700,000 doses a day this month and then ramp them up again. “So by July we will be able to achieve the target of 1 million vaccinations per day,” he said, according to Reuters. Over the past week, Indonesia has distributed around 260,000 vaccines per day, according to figures from BNPB, its national crisis mitigation agency.
Indonesia is already the most affected country in Southeast Asia, with 1. 87 million infections and 51,990 deaths, and the fourth most affected country in the world in terms of population.
Given its inability to completely eradicate the virus, Indonesia’s government has been proactive in seeking vaccines to inoculate its 270 million people. Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, it has relied heavily on Chinese corporations Sinovac and Sinopharm, but has also secured vaccine deliveries from U. S. company Moderna and Britain’s AstraZeneca.
In January, the government launched its nationwide campaign to vaccinate 181. 5 million people over the course of 2021, but vaccine distribution has been hampered by logistical and supply issues. As of June 8, only 18. 26 million Indonesians had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a figure that reaches only 6. 68% of its population.
But the slow rollout of the vaccine has received a new boost due to the continued spread of COVID-19. Having slightly contained the last wave that peaked in January and February, the country is on the brink of a new wave of infections, due to the spread of more contagious variants and a resulting surge in travel during the Eid al-Fitr holiday last month. Jokowi’s comments came on the same day Indonesia recorded 7,725 new coronavirus infections, the largest single-day increase since late February.
Seventeen regions of the country are recently classified as “red zones,” subject to a ban on public gatherings of more than three people and closing at 8 p. m. curfew, while the Indonesian government has recruited more doctors and nurses to two areas on the islands of Java and Madura that have noticed giant outbreaks of cases.
Meanwhile, the health government has banned Indonesian Muslims from making the Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, sinking a local tourism industry valued at around $3 billion a year for a second year. They also opened COVID-19 vaccination to anyone over 18 in Jakarta, one of the hotspots of recent outbreaks, in a bid to push the capital toward herd immunity. Officials expect cases to continue rising in June and July, but hope that an immediate distribution of vaccines will help bring the numbers down.
Jokowi’s goal of one million vaccinations a day is, to say the least, optimistic. As of May 31, Indonesia had only about 76 million doses of vaccines ready to use, according to Reuters, but in reality, their distribution to the population will be limited to the demanding situations that arise in the country’s sprawling island geography.
But there’s a good chance Jokowi’s management has learned lessons from next year’s demanding situations. Even if it fails to meet its self-imposed target, which is most likely the case, the government obviously recognizes that the only paradise for Southeast Asia’s largest country is one in which the country achieves widespread and immediate vaccination, as temporarily as possible.
Indonesia has outlined plans to dramatically increase the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as the country battles the persistent outbreak of the virus, setting an ambitious target of one million vaccinations per day until next month.
Speaking to reporters in Depok, near the capital Jakarta, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said he expected the country to manage 700,000 doses a day this month and then ramp them up again. “So by July we will be able to achieve the target of 1 million vaccinations per day,” he said, according to Reuters. Over the past week, Indonesia has distributed around 260,000 vaccines per day, according to figures from BNPB, its national crisis mitigation agency.
Sebastian Strangio is Southeast Asia Editor at The Diplomat.