Pursuing Herd Immunity; IDI Reminds Govt to Prepare Backup Plan

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) cited a study from Australia that highlighted the minimum requirement for a vaccinated population to reach herd immunity based on Covid-19 vaccines with various degrees of efficacy. 

During a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives on August 25, 2021, IDI deputy chairperson Slamet Budiarto suggested the government to vaccinate 86 percent of the Indonesian population to achieve herd immunity. 

Budiarto said that this suggestion was heavily based on the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine of up to 70 percent. Sinovac is the prominent vaccine brand for Indonesia's mass vaccination.

"The Sinovac vaccine's efficacy is 70 percent, which means 86 percent of the entire population must be vaccinated," said Slamet during the hearing. 

Slamet's statement means that the government must review its target of vaccinating 208 million people from Indonesia's total population of 270 million, which is less than 80 percent of the country's entire population. Slamet believed that with the current rate of mass vaccinations, Indonesia will need another 7-8 months to reach herd immunity. 

Slamet added that the group of early vaccine recipients that were inoculated on January, February, March, and April 2021 with the Sinovac vaccine, need receive a vaccine booster within 6-12 months after their vaccination. "This must be prepared, especially if the vaccination rate is unable to be reached," he added.

On a separate occasion, the Indonesian Health Ministry's Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that the government is planning to vaccinate over 100 million Indonesians before the end of this month. "This means we can achieve another 50 million in less than seven weeks since the first 50 million vaccinations," said Nadia in the online PPKM virtual press conference on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.

ANTARA