[ad_1]
Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and members of the EU, including Lithuania, have already launched mass vaccinations, prioritizing only doctors and older people at risk.
But Indonesia is doing the opposite. Yes, doctors and officials will be vaccinated here first, but then there will be a queue of workers aged 18 to 59.
Why such a strategy?
Indonesia intends to launch a vaccination campaign using a vaccine made by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech, and openly admits that it has no data on its effectiveness against the ancients. After all, people between the ages of 18 and 59 participated in clinical trials.
“It’s not that we don’t follow the rules,” said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokeswoman for the Health Ministry. “We are awaiting official recommendations on what to decide on vaccination for older people.”
Although the United Kingdom and the United States began vaccination with doses developed by Pfizer / BioNTech that are effective in all age groups, Indonesia did not have such information. By contrast, Jakarta only received prior access to the Chinese CoronaVac vaccine.
Photo by Scanpix / Chinese Coronavirus Vaccine Delivered to Indonesia
Indonesia has agreed that the country will receive 125.5 million. CoronaVac dose, and the first 3 million. the batch of doses has already arrived.
Meanwhile, Pfizer / BioNTech will only ship to Indonesia in the third quarter of the year. The product of AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is second.
“I don’t think we should be very dogmatic about which approach is the right one,” said Peter Collignon, a professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University, who believes that Indonesia’s strategy could slow the spread of the disease, though probably not improving. mortality rates.
D. Fisherman: Young working adults tend to be more active, communicate and travel more. Therefore, this strategy should stop the spread of the virus in society, instead of vaccinating the elderly.
“The fact that Indonesia is behaving differently from the United States and Europe is valuable, because in the long run we will see which strategy is more effective. “I don’t think anyone knows the answer to this question right now,” Collignon added.
Meanwhile, Dale Fisher, a professor at the National University of Singapore, said he understood the calculations of officials in Jakarta.
“Young working adults tend to be more active, communicate and travel more. Therefore, this strategy should stop the spread of the virus in society, instead of vaccinating the elderly.
Of course, older people are at risk of getting sicker, often dying, so their vaccination also makes sense. I think both strategies have a basis, ”said D. Fisher.
Will herd immunity develop faster?
The Indonesian government hopes that vaccinating the most active population, both socially and economically, will accelerate the development of so-called herd immunity. Upon reaching it, the spread of the virus slows down extremely abruptly.
The country’s health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, says 181.5 million people need to be vaccinated. population (67%) and herd immunity will be achieved. This requires 427 million. vaccine doses, double vaccination is required and it is estimated that 15% doses may not work.
AFP / Scanpix Photo / Hospital in Indonesia
On the other hand, some experts are skeptical about the very concept of herd immunity. Studies are still needed to determine if vaccinated people can actually transmit the virus.
Hasbullah Thabrany, director of the Indonesian Health Economic Association, acknowledged: “It is possible that people can still infect others.”
Will the economy win?
Economists believe that a successful vaccination campaign could vaccinate more than 100 million people. people would really help start the engine of the Indonesian economy. People who have acquired resilience would resume economic activity: they would buy, produce, sell, consume.
Faisal Rachman, an economist at Bank Madiri, emphasizes that the needs of consumers in the 18-59 age group are higher than in other groups.
“These individuals could accelerate the economic recovery,” he said, although he cautioned that consumer confidence is currently being undermined by the growing number of coronavirus infections.
Due to the pandemic, Indonesia, whose economy is the largest in Southeast Asia, will experience a recession for the first time in more than two decades. The government estimates that in 2020 the country’s economy will contract by 2.2 percent.
[ad_2]
