Indonesia to administer Covid-19 boosters once 50% are fully vaccinated
Indonesia has announced its plans to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to members of the public, as soon as 50% of its population is fully vaccinated. According to Reuters, the nation’s health minister made this announcement yesterday, and reported that he expects the program to get started by the end of this month.
Indonesia was at one point Asia’s Covid-19 epicentre, averaging over 50,000 cases a day at its height, according to Worldometers. The country is the fourth most populous in the world with a population of 270 million people. So far, 29% of the population have been vaccinated.
Due to concerns over limited vaccines, the Indonesian government decided on the 50% mark to start boosters, according to minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin. The country is using a variety of brands in an effort to vaccinate as much of their sizable population as possible. Bunadi expressed his frustration over the issue of vaccine inequity.
“Issues of injustice or ethics are so high in the world, because some countries haven’t gotten a lot of first shots.”
Budi explained that the plan was to prioritise giving free shots to the poor who receive government support, and the elderly. Other citizens will likely have to pay for the shots. A large number of health workers on the front lines have already received their booster.
Australia, Britain and Germany have all pledged to donate vaccines to Indonesia.
SOURCES: Bangkok Post| Worldometers
