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Booster vaccine rollout a sure recipe for boosting inequality
As the government’s own data shows, the benefits of the vaccination rollout have not been equally enjoyed across the nation.
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Stay alert: Health workers vaccinate residents for COVID-19 during a mobile vaccination drive at the Cipedak subdistrict office in South Jakarta on July 13. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
In the run-up to the National Games (PON) in October, the government worked hard to make sure that as many people as possible in Papua and West Papua provinces, hosts of the biennale event, get their COVID-19 vaccines. It never got anywhere near the published target of a 70 percent vaccination rate. In the end, the vaccine rollout in the two easternmost provinces focused on three regencies and one city where the Games’ venues were located.
PON XX was still considered a huge success, held at a time when the nation was struggling to bring down COVID-19 infection rates. The vaccination program in the two provinces allowed many Papuans, as well as visitors who were already fully vaccinated, to watch their favorite sports and athletes fighting for the honor of their respective provinces.
Fast forward three months to now, both Papua and West Papua rank among the lowest-ranked provinces in the country when it comes to vaccination rates. Once the Games was over, apparently, Papuans were all but forgotten in the national vaccination program.
As of this weekend, the number of people in Papua who have received their first dose is 28 percent of the target, and only 20 percent have gotten their second, according to Health Ministry figures. West Papua is doing better, though is still well below the national level, with 52 percent and 34 percent, respectively, for the first and second injections. Aceh, Indonesia’s westernmost province, and Maluku, also rank among the lowest four of all 34 provinces.
Yet the government has been touting Indonesia’s national vaccination program as a success, with 156 million people receiving the first dose and 110 million their second, giving a vaccination rate of 75 percent and 53 percent for their first and second injections of the targeted 208 million people.
So confident with this success that Indonesia is now ready to formally roll out a program for the third injection as a booster to strengthen the effectiveness of the first two doses, beginning in the new year.
As the government’s own data shows, the benefits of the vaccination rollout have not been equally enjoyed across the nation. Jakarta tops the list in the vaccination rate, with 136 percent of the target receiving their first dose and 123 percent their second, while Bali comes second with 103 and 91 percent, respectively.
