Indonesians Must Pay for Booster Shot, Starts Rolling out Next Week

TheIndonesia.co - Some people in Indonesia will have to pay to get booster shot, the government said, as it continues preparation for the rollout next week.

The program will start on Wednesday, January 12, and spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the COVID-19 booster shot will be both free and paid.

“Both free and paid booster program will start on January 12, 2022,” Tarmizi confirmed on Tuesday, January 4, as reported by Antara.

According to her, the free boosters will be subsidized by Indonesian government to be given to Penerima Bantuan Iuran (PBI), or recipients of contribution assistance, especially the elderlies who are more vulnerable to hospitalization when infected.

The rest of the public must pay if they want to receive their third dose of COVID-19 vaccine with the average price at Rp300,000 or US$21.4 per person.

Previously on Monday, Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government is targeting 21 million of Indonesians to get the booster dose.

It will be given to adults aged 18 years and older, as per the recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The program also targets municipals and regencies with first-dose and second-dose vaccination rates at 70 and 60 percent, respectively. According to this criteria, 244 municipals and regencies are eligible, the Minister said.

It was also revealed that the booster shot can only be administered at least six months after the second dose was given.