Indonesia pledges free COVID-19 vaccines, with president first in line

JAKARTA: Indonesia will provide free coronavirus vaccines to its citizens when the world’s fourth most populous nation starts its inoculation programme, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday, adding he would get the first shot to reassure people on safety. The sprawling, developing country received its first shipment of vaccines, 1.2 million doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech in early December, but is awaiting emergency use authorisation from its food and drug agency. Another 1.8 million doses are due in January with authorities saying that healthcare workers in Java and Bali, and people aged between 18 and 56 deemed most at risk given their high mobility, would be prioritised. “After receiving many people’s suggestions and after recalculating state financial calculations, I can say that COVID-19 vaccines for citizens will be free,” the president said in a video statement from Jakarta’s state palace. The decision comes as the country of 270 million faces an escalating coronavirus outbreak and also after social media campaigns urging authorities to provide vaccines free of charge. The president, widely known as Jokowi, said he had instructed the finance minister to reallocate spending for the programme. Amid concerns over vaccine safety and whether shots would be halal, an issue for many in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, the president said he would be the first recipient. — Reuters