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JAKARTA – Tempers have started to flare in Indonesia as several people from privileged backgrounds joined the queue for the Covid-19 vaccination campaign that has covered 1.58 million people as of Friday (February 26).
Earlier this month, pharmacy owner Helena Lim, nicknamed the “Crazy Rich Jakartan” after an American comedy, was vaccinated at a community health center in the capital claiming to be a member of the support staff at a pharmacy. .
A video posted on Instagram showing his tail to receive the jab went viral, sparking a public outcry over his eligibility to receive the vaccine, which, at the time, was intended only for healthcare workers.
The police launched an investigation shortly after.
The families of the legislators, who since Thursday were being vaccinated along with the legislators in the compound of the House of Representatives in Jakarta, have now also come under scrutiny.
A National Awakening Party (PKB) legislator, Abdul Kadir Karding, told Kompas.com that he and his family were vaccinated on Thursday following an invitation from the House Secretary General.
Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation in the world, launched its vaccination program on January 13 with the goal of inoculating 181.5 million people, or 67% of its nearly 270 million inhabitants, and achieving herd immunity in 15 months.
In the first phase of the program, which continues, 1.47 million health workers will be vaccinated. The second phase, which began on February 17, targeted 38.5 million people considered to be in high-risk groups, including police, military personnel, legislators, street vendors and the elderly.
Professor Wiku Adisasmito, spokesman for the Covid-19 Mitigation Working Group, has confirmed that the families of the parliamentarians were also vaccinated.
“Basically, vaccination cannot guarantee that someone is immune to the virus and therefore, to reduce the possibility (of infection), the measure is taken, starting with the close circles,” he told The Straits Times.
Controversy has dogged the vaccination campaign with long lines and limited supplies of the vaccine.
Even in Jakarta, the elderly have to queue, sometimes from dawn, to get vaccinated at some health centers. Local media have also reported on issues related to an online registration system and limited daily vaccine quotas.
Dr. Tri Maharani, a volunteer for the Lapor Covid-19 citizen coalition, described the vaccination of legislators and their families as “inappropriate” and “opportunistic,” and said it was not urgent to vaccinate them at a time when even many of the who were in the priority groups, such as the elderly and health workers, had not yet received their vaccinations.
“That does not reflect that they represent the people. If they really are the representatives of the people, they will prioritize the people they represent. If necessary, they should be the last to be vaccinated, much less their families,” he told ST. .
Local media reported that at least 39 of the 61 corruption suspects detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), including former Minister of Social Affairs Juliari Batubara, had also been vaccinated.
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