TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Epidemiologist from University of Indonesia (UI) Pandu Riono et al petitioned for the cancelation of the private vaccination program that was just introduced by the Indonesian Health Minister.

The petition called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, and SOEs Minister Erick Thohir to revoke the private vaccination, which is a program that will see vaccinations for workers that will be funded by corporations.

Pandu Riono, Irma Hidayana, and Sulfikar Amir, under a coalition dubbed the Vaccine Coalition for Everyone, in the Change.org petition reasoned that “the government’s plan to allow private vaccinations will create significant disparity and would prolong the pandemic.”

The coalition cited the WHO upon acknowledging that private vaccinations by private sectors would only benefit and prioritize the middle-to-higher income society in urban areas. With the limited number of COVID-19 vaccines available, people who are less fortunate in areas with low economy will be at a high risk of being exposed to the virus.

The petition asserts that the private vaccination that the government claimed sought to help accelerate Indonesia’s herd immunity goal, cannot be justified as this scheme opens the access to people to be vaccinated based on their economic status and affiliations with private corporations.

The petition states that the private sector can be involved in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines but not for the vaccinations itself as each and every person in the country has equal rights to be vaccinated based on the country’s list of priorities.

Read: Bio Farma Seeks to Partner with Sinopharm, Moderna for Private Vaccinations

DEWI NURITA