Covid-19 vaccine: Why Indonesia chose to prioritize the youngest, unlike most countries

Vaccinating the youngest to protect the oldest, here is the strategy put in place in Indonesia. In this Southeast Asian archipelago of 267 million inhabitants, Covid-19 has already claimed 19,300 lives. At the request of the president, Joko Widodo, the vaccine will be distributed free of charge for the 182 million Indonesians, in order to reach a vaccination coverage of 70%, necessary according to him to benefit from collective immunity.

Vaccinate asymptomatic super-spreaders

While in the majority of countries in the world, starting with France, governments decide to vaccinate the elderly as a priority, because they are the most vulnerable to the virus, Indonesia has chosen to do the opposite strategy. From January, it will give priority to vaccinating adults between the ages of 18 and 59, as well as populations on the front line facing the epidemic, such as the military and health professionals.

If the choice of the authorities fell on the 18-59 age group, it is because it alone represents nearly half of the country’s inhabitants. In addition, according to epidemiologist Dicky Budiman, interviewed by RFI, this group can potentially bring together super-contaminators, who are able to spread the virus around them without knowing it. “The data shows that most asymptomatic cases fall into this group. It may be a good decision to prioritize them over the vaccine to control the pandemic.”

Finally, the doses of the vaccine ordered by Indonesia come from the Chinese laboratory Sinovac. For now, the vaccine has only been tested on 18-59 year olds, which also explains the Jakarta government’s strategy for the elderly.