Indonesia has significantly recovered from a mid-year spike in coronavirus cases and deaths that was one of the worst in the region. But with its vaccination drive stalling due to logistical challenges and other issues, experts warn of another surge.
Indonesia started its vaccination rollout earlier than any other country in Southeast Asia on Jan. 13, and as infection and death rates soared in July and August, ramped up its program to more than 1 million shots per day.
Because Indonesia started early with its vaccination program, there’s also more likelihood that the effectiveness is now waning, he said. Boosters are planned but probably will not begin until early 2022. With a poor record of testing and case reporting, many have questioned the official figures and the Health Ministry conceded this week that there have likely been about four times as many cases as officially listed.
Safrizal Rahman, chief of the Indonesian Medical Association in the province of Aceh, on the northwest tip of Sumatra island, said officials need to reach out to local religious leaders to enlist their support in moving ahead with vaccines. It has not helped that the prominent voice of former Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari, who served time for a corruption conviction, has been one of those sources, advising against getting the vaccine citing fully-debunked conspiracy theories.
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