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Indonesian President Joko Widodo will receive the country’s first injection of the coronavirus vaccine.
Key points:
- Widodo says he will get the first vaccine to ensure his safety for people.
- Says coronavirus vaccines will be free for citizens
- The country received 1.2 million doses of Sinovac Biotech from China in its first shipment of vaccines earlier this month.
Widodo says it would give him the first chance to reassure people about safety.
He revealed the plan by announcing that Indonesia would provide free coronavirus vaccines to citizens when it began its vaccine program.
The country, the fourth most populous nation in the world, received 1.2 million doses of Sinovac Biotech from China in its first shipment of vaccines earlier this month.
But Indonesia and Widodo are awaiting emergency use authorization from the nation’s food and drug agency.
Another 1.8 million doses are expected to be delivered in January, with the government previously saying that priority will be given to healthcare workers in Java and Bali.
“After receiving suggestions from many people and after recalculating the state financial calculations, I can say that COVID-19 vaccines for citizens will be free,” Widodo said in a video statement from the state palace in Jakarta.
The decision comes as the country of 270 million faces a growing coronavirus outbreak and social media campaigns urging authorities to provide vaccines for free.
Widodo said he had instructed the finance minister to reallocate spending to fund the program.
Amid concerns about vaccine safety and whether the vaccines would be halal, a problem for many in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, the president said he would be the first recipient.
He did not specify which vaccine he would receive, but a phase III trial of Sinovac’s CoronaVac with 1,620 volunteers is underway in the Indonesian city of Bandung in West Java. The results have not yet been published.
Ten months after officially registering its first COVID-19 case, Indonesia has recorded more than 629,000 confirmed infections and 19,000 deaths.
The country has the highest number of cases and deaths in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia is seeking to secure 246.6 million doses of vaccines and has also been in negotiations with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and the global COVAX vaccine program.
Reuters
