As Indonesia continues its preparations for the return of international tourism, the President has set a target of one million vaccinations per day by the end of July.
The government is making steady progress with its inoculations drive. At the start of June, around 260,000 people daily vaccinations were administered in the archipelago. By the end of the month, that number was edging closer to around 700,000. Speaking to the press, President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo confirmed that, at the current rate, “in July, we can achieve the vaccination target per day of 1 million.”
As of 1 July 2021, a total of 30,184,392 Indonesians have received their first vaccinations, which was 905,250 more than the day before. Meanwhile, 13,624,157 people have received their second vaccination and reached full immunity. This is 158,658 more than the previous day. The numbers suggest that Indonesia is well on course to meet the President’s target this month.
For several months, the Indonesian government has been pouring resources into its vaccination programme, knowing that herd immunity is the best way to make the country safe for the return of international tourism. In an archipelago nation of more than 270 million people, this poses a considerable challenge.
Indonesia kicked off mass vaccinations on 13 January 2021. The programme is split into four phases, with healthcare workers receiving the first batch of vaccines, followed by public servants and then other members of the public. Workers in popular tourism locations – such as Bali, Batam and Bangka – have also been prioritised in the rollout of vaccinations. The government aims to inoculate 181.5 million people by early 2022.
To support this acceleration in the vaccination drive, Indonesia has doubled down on securing doses from various sources worldwide. As of 2 July, the government has acquired a total of 119.7 million doses of various Covid-19 vaccines, including Moderna from the USA, AstraZeneca from the UK and Sinovac and Sinopharm from China.
It is hoped that Indonesia’s multinational vaccination drive is a precursor to the imminent return of international tourists.
