Indonesia to Open Access for Third Doses, Self-bought Vaccines in 2020: Minister

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government will provide access to the general public for a booster vaccine or a third dose of vaccine, as well as self-purchased vaccines, next year. The plan was revealed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani during a meeting with the DPR Budgetary Board on Wednesday, August 25.

"Those wishing to get vaccine boosters and independent vaccines will be able to next year," she said.

However, Sri guarantees that the government will continue to set a budget for the free vaccine program, in order to reach the 70-percent herd immunity target. In the 2022 state budget plan, the government allocates Rp38.44 trillion for vaccine procurement.

The government also allocates Rp3 trillion for central vaccine support. Overall, in 2022, the government will allocate Rp77.05 trillion for health care.

In addition to vaccination, the health budget is also allocated for testing, tracing, and treatment (Rp4.5 trillion); Covid-19 patient care (Rp14.9 trillion); four million packages of Covid drugs (Rp1 trillion), and other health measures (Rp6.5 trillion).

Boosters and third became a hot topic after several people claimed they would or have receive them. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, for example, has said that he considered getting a third dose at the end of the year.

Read: Health Minister Discloses Reasons behind Self-Paid Vaccine Program Plan

Francisca Christy Rosana