Up to 93 million low income Indonesians to receive COVID-19 vaccine for free

Around one-third of Indonesians won’t have to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available, a top official said, with the government set to subsidize the nation’s low income citizens.

State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, who also heads the country’s COVID-19 management and economic recovery committee, said during a virtual press conference today that up to 93 million Indonesians registered with the BPJS Kesehatan national health insurance whose premiums are fully subsidized by the state under the contribution assistance (PBI) program will not have to pay for the vaccine.

“Looking at BPJS Kesehatan data, there are 93 million PBI participants. We will verify the data,” Erick said.

Among the 93 million, those at higher risk, such as older people, will be given priority for vaccine administration. In addition, 1.5 million healthcare workers, police officers and military personnel will also be given priority.

Erick then called on high income Indonesians to help shoulder the financial burden of the vaccine, mainly by paying for it out of their own pocket. The minister also urged employers to cover their employees’ vaccine expenses where possible.

“But that doesn’t mean that those who pay [for their own vaccine] will get priority. There will be schedules, data, so the government is not looking to make a quick buck from this,” he said.

President Joko Widodo on Tuesday said that a locally developed vaccine, which will cover at least 50 percent of the country’s vaccine needs, is set to go in production by mid-2021. In addition, the government also said that it has secured 290 million doses of a vaccine candidate developed by Chinese pharmaceutical Sinovac Biotech, which will be gradually delivered until the end of 2021.

Ref: coconuts.co