Indonesia goes private on Covid with pay-as-you-go vaccines

One of the world’s only private COVID-19 vaccination schemes has kicked off in Indonesia.

One of the world’s first privately run Covid vaccination schemes kicks off in Jakarta on Tuesday. Picture: Graham Crouch.

One of the world’s only private COVID-19 vaccination schemes kicked off in Indonesia on Tuesday with more than 10 million workers registered to receive a Chinese-developed jab.

The program is being run by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) which lobbied the government to allow businesses to fast-track the vaccinations of their own employees, rather than wait in the sluggish public queue.

With just over nine million of Indonesia’s 270 million population fully vaccinated since January 13 through a government-run scheme rolling out SinoVac and AstraZeneca to frontline workers, the government is a long way from reaching its target of 180 million vaccinated by the end of the year.

KADIN chief Rosan Roeslani said 22,736 companies had registered for the scheme, but he expected many more to do so once people saw how well it worked. “This program will have a great impact on business. If possible we would like to vaccinate not only our employees and their families, but also the public around our operational areas,” he said.

Just how big an impact it will have will depend on the availability of vaccines, which have been in short supply outside of the US and Europe.

So far, the scheme has secured 480,000 doses of Sinopharm, the only Chinese-developed vaccine to have received emergency use approval from the World Health Organisation, though suppliers have reportedly guaranteed 7.5 million doses for this year. Indonesian state pharmaceutical manufacturer BioFarma says it has secured a commitment for five million doses of another Chinese vaccine, CanSino, for the private scheme this year, though none have yet been delivered.

A Covid vaccination clinic run by a private business in Indonesia.

A spokeswoman for Unilever Indonesia, one of the first to begin vaccinating its workers at its Bekasi factory outside Jakarta, said she was grateful for the initiative and hoped it would contribute to herd immunity in Indonesia.

“Even across our Unilever offices globally, this program is the first of its kind. Today we vaccinated 320 Unilever employees, and in total we will vaccinate 10,000 employees and their family members,” local director Ira Noviarti said.

At a vaccination hub for small and medium businesses in South Jakarta, Vina Selvia, 53, told The Australian she was relieved to have received her first jab, and happy to shell out Rp1.5 million ($150) to secure a vaccine for herself and her two employees at her home-based bakery, Bits2Bite.

“I don’t mind paying for the vaccination for myself and my staff because we don’t know when we will get the free vaccination,” Ms Selvia said.

“I don’t feel like I’m cutting the queue in any way because the government has already said this program will not be taking vaccines meant for the free program. I feel like I’m doing my part by getting vaccinated.”