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This year, let’s give vaccines another shot
While I fully agree with epidemiologists who have voiced their concerns about vaccine equity, we should never let the vaccine-hesitant, or worse still, the antivaxxers dictate our policies.
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Priority jabs: A senior citizen is given a COVID-19 vaccine shot by a nurse during a vaccination drive held in Banda Aceh, Aceh province. (JP/Courtesy of the Banda Aceh Health Agency)
I
t's 2022 and we are well into our third year of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon reflection, a lot has changed since the novel coronavirus was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. According to World Health Organization data, up to 5.4 million lives have been lost globally to COVID-19, including at least 144,000 Indonesians. In July 2021, Indonesia endured one of the most testing periods in its living memory when our health system nearly succumbed to the Delta variant outbreak.
Waking up to a 2022 sunrise, we cannot help but ask ourselves what we have learned from the harrowing episode that was 2021. And most importantly, how can we write — fingers-crossed — the closing chapter we hope 2022 to be. Here are my takes.
First and foremost, we need to boost our vaccination programs. In early April 2021, when demand greatly outnumbered supply, we had volunteers rolling up their sleeves helping the government distribute and administer shots. Volunteer-run vaccination centers were instrumental in getting vaccines to eligible groups and shortened long lines. Along with an improved supply chain and the PeduliLindungi app mandate for travelers and mall patrons, this has helped the government deliver up to 2 million vaccine doses daily, to much of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's delight.
However, some 270 million doses later, with 53 percent of the targeted population fully vaccinated, some makeshift vaccination centers have shut down and long lines are no longer observed. This indicates that the government may need a new approach to “boost” vaccine awareness as supply has exceeded demand.
As a rule, the government should offer incentives before making vaccines mandatory. For example, through its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the government can offer free data plans in urban areas with low vaccination rates and perhaps livestock to their rural counterparts. Measures such as requiring government and SOE contractors alike to furnish vaccine certificates for all its employees should be considered in the next procurement cycle as well.
Second, we need boosters. While I fully agree with epidemiologists who have voiced their concerns about vaccine equity, we should never let the vaccine-hesitant, worse still, the antivaxxers dictate our policies. When vaccine doses are at a surplus because of artificially low demand, it is not prudent to let those valuable shots expire. Why not use those near-expiration vials to boost those who have shown interest in getting protected?
We have lost many to the virus. But it appears we have lost many more to the seemingly incurable pandemic of disinformation. We must rendezvous with reality: Too many of our brethren are ideological antivaxxers. We might never get them to vaccinate no matter the incentives, no matter the constitutionally allowable mandates. All the while, our children are being deprived of their fundamental right to a functional and safe in-class education for the second year running.
