Ministry Of Health Plans Paid Booster Vaccinations, Ombudsman: As Long As Herd Immunity Has Not Been Achieved, It's Unethical

ILLUSTRATION/DOC IST HO East Java Provincial Government

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Health plans to provide a paid booster or third dose of vaccination. But Members of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia assessed that paid vaccinations should not be carried out before communal immunity or herd immunity in Indonesia has been achieved.

It is known, herd immunity is achieved when 70 percent of the population in a country has received an injection of vaccination. If herd immunity has not been achieved, then paid booster vaccination is unethical.

"We appeal as long as there is no communal immunity and access to vaccinations is still difficult for the community to obtain, then it is unethical and unfair if people have to buy vaccines," Indraza said in a virtual discussion, Wednesday, September 8.

Meanwhile, Co-Initiator of LaporCovid-19 Ahmad Arif also considered it unethical if vaccinations were traded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because, this can lead to injustice for society. People with high economic abilities will easily get access to vaccinations, while people with low incomes cannot get it.

"The pandemic has an emergency there. If it is released into the market, then those who can access and buy it are people who have power, money, and so on," said Arif.

Previously, Plt. Director General of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, said that his party is currently planning a booster vaccination scheme for the general public next year.

"Next year we have made a scheme to do a booster for those who have been vaccinated with doses 1 and 2, for those who have not been vaccinated because those under 11 years old will switch to 12 years, then they will receive doses 1 and 2," said Maxi.

Maxi emphasized that the planned booster vaccination was not free, but paid. This is because the government is only able to facilitate the first and second doses of vaccination for the community.

If the government is able to cover the booster vaccination, it will only prioritize the poor and health workers.

"We have made this scheme, even though the government is unable to make payments to the entire population as it is now. So we will prioritize especially those who are included in the aid recipients such as the poor, there are quite a number of around 100 million, we will prioritize the government program for boosters. "said Maxi.