COVID-19 Vaccination in Indonesia is Increasingly Deviant
21 April 2021 – Indonesia was hit by a vaccine embargo by India due to a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases in India. As a result, Indonesia only received 1.1 million of the 11.7 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine allocated by COVAX to Indonesia. The Serum Institute of India has postponed vaccine deliveries to Indonesia in March and April 2021.
Press Release
COVID-19 Vaccination in Indonesia is Increasingly Deviant
Ironically, amidst limited vaccine availability, many vaccines are still given to those who are not vulnerable groups. Whereas, World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that vulnerable groups including the elderly, those with comorbidities, and people living in areas with high transmission be prioritized for vaccination after health workers in the context of controlling the pandemic.
While vaccination coverage for parents or grandparents is still very low, vaccinations are given first to program celebrities, influencers, artists and other arts practitioners who are not vulnerable groups.
As of April 20 at 12.00 WIB, national data from the Ministry of Health shows that only 10.47% of elderly people in the country have received the first dose, and only 4.74% of these elderly people have received the complete dose of vaccination.
Complaints received by LBH-YLBHI and LaporCovid-19 show that it is still difficult for elderly people to access the COVID-19 vaccine. For example, many elderly people in several areas such as Depok, Semarang City, Yogyakarta Special Region and West Bandung Regency have not received vaccinations.
This clearly shows a disregard for the right to a healthy life and health protection and from the threat of death due to COVID-19 for vulnerable groups. It also shows the chaos of the vaccination program and pandemic control in the country.
The government has discriminated in access to vaccination by prioritizing certain groups who are not vulnerable groups. Based on these things, we urge the government to:
- Stop vaccination for all non-vulnerable groups, and ensure that all target vulnerable groups receive vaccination as soon as possible as an effort to protect against COVID-19 infection.
- Improving open data collection and distribution of vaccinations so that they are right on target in accordance with WHO recommendations, from sub-district, sub-district, district/city, provincial to national levels.
- Ensure that the Government is not careless and remains strict in implementing guidelines for preventing the spread of COVID-19, such as 3M's appeal, even though Indonesia is currently implementing a vaccination program.
- Providing correct and valid information and data regarding the number of vaccination realizations, data on deaths due to COVID-19, data and number of incentives for health workers and data related to handling COVID-19 in Indonesia.
Jakarta, April 21 2021
Citizens Coalition for Fair Health Access
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Contact Person:
Aditia Bagus Santoso YLBHI (+62 812 777 41836)
Irma Hidayana ReportCovid-19 (+1917 941 9383)
LBH Office and Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI)
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW)
Lokataru Foundation
Report Covid-19
Indonesia for Global Justice
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
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Press Release COVID-19 Vaccination in Indonesia is Increasingly Divergent_Coalition for Access to Health Justice
