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Hesitancy hinders Indonesia's efforts to boost vaccination rates
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Give me a boost: A resident receives an AstraZeneca booster vaccine shot during a mass inoculation program organized by the Semarang Police in Simpang Lima, Semarang, Central Java, on April 21. (Antara/Aji Styawan)
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accine hesitancy has stalled Indonesia's efforts to increase its COVID-19 vaccination rollout in the wake of another wave of infections, preventing it from reaching its goal of fully inoculating 70 percent of the population by June.
Indonesia’s monthly vaccine rollout has been decreasing by 83 percent in the past five months, from around 29.4 million doses administered in February to a mere 4.8 million last month.
Daily vaccine distribution has also significantly dwindled over the same period, from around 1 million shots administered nationwide a day to about 200,000 shots a day, the lowest since March of last year when Indonesia was still struggling with COVID-19 vaccine shortages.
Health Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Syahril Mansyur attributed the slowdown to increasing vaccine hesitancy among the public.
"There are a lot of reasons why our vaccination rollout is declining, but it's mainly due to rising vaccine hesitancy among the public as our COVID-19 situation improved. A lot of people think that it's no longer necessary to get vaccinated," Syahril told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Coronavirus cases declined nationwide after a wave of infections fueled by the more contagious but less virulent Omicron variant earlier this year. Compared to the deadly Delta variant, infections from Omicron are less likely to send people to the hospital.
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