Jokowi Free COVID-19 Vaccine for Indonesian People in Memory of Today, December 16, 2020

One of the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Biofarma. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Today's memory, five years ago, December 16, 2020, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announced a COVID-19 vaccine for all Indonesians for free. The narrative makes it impossible for people not to get the vaccine.

Previously, the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic made Jokowi hope for the presence of vaccines. The vaccine is considered powerful to break the chain of the corona virus. Jokowi tried to prepare two paid and free vaccine schemes. However, it was protested.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought panic to the whole world. This condition is because the transmission of the corona virus continues to take place quickly. One by one, countries are beginning to feel the violence of the corona virus. High transmission rates. Death everywhere. The economy is plummeting.

Not to mention the business of many businesses going bankrupt. The same condition also occurred in Indonesia. The government's attitude towards the entry of COVID-19 was fatal. At first, the virus from Wuhan was considered not to dare spread in the tropical climate, in fact the corona can be transmitted to anyone.

The government is also confused. All sorts of actions have been tried, but not many have succeeded. The government then waited for instructions from the world health body, WHO, which tends to change. As a result, not all WHO methods succeeded in breaking the chain of transmission of the corona virus.

At its peak, President Jokowi invited all Indonesian people to make peace with COVID-19. This invitation is valid until the COVID-19 vaccine is found. Jokowi considers the vaccine to be the most appropriate way to fight the corona virus.

"It is possible that it will go up again, or go down again, go up a little more, and go down again, and so on. That is, until an effective vaccine is found, we must live in peace with COVID for some time to come."

"And we are lucky from the beginning to choose the PSBB policy, not lockdown or quarantine areas. Large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) are restrictions on activities in public places or in public facilities in the form of restrictions on the number of people and distance between people," said Jokowi as quoted by the DW website, May 7, 2020.

The wait for the vaccine has captured attention. Moreover, the government will provide two schemes for distributing vaccines that are free and paid. This condition has sparked protests everywhere.

"In the name of justice, the government is asked by the people to make the vaccine free. Its function is to protect all Indonesian people from the COVID-19 pandemic. So, there is no reason for all people not to be vaccinated.

Jokowi also heard criticism. As a result, he decided to make the vaccine free for all Indonesian people on December 16, 2020. He considers the state's finances still strong to accommodate the provision of vaccines.

"So after receiving input from the community, and after recalculating, recalculating the state finances, I can say that the Covid-19 vaccine for the community is free. Again, free of charge at all."

"For this reason, I have instructed and ordered all levels of the cabinet, ministries, and local governments to prioritize the vaccination program in the 2021 budget year," said Jokowi as quoted by the BBC Indonesia website, December 16, 2020.