Concerns rise over Indonesia's sputtering COVID vaccinations

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has significantly recovered from a mid-year spike in coronavirus cases and deaths that was one of the worst in the region, but with its vaccination drive stalling due to logistical challenges and other issues, and with holidays approaching, experts and officials warn the island nation could soon face another surge.

Indonesia started its vaccination rollout earlier than any other country in Southeast Asia on Jan. 13, and as infection and death rates soared in July and August, ramped up its program to more than 1 million shots per day.

But as the world's fourth most populous nation it had a lot more work to do than most, and today is only 33% fully vaccinated and 16% partially, far behind its smaller neighbor Malaysia, which boasts 76% fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.

Most vaccinations have been distributed in the more urban areas on the archipelago nation's biggest islands of Java and Bali, while many on smaller, more rural islands — where health care systems are often rudimentary and the population tends to be older — have not been reached, said Dicky Budiman, an Indonesian epidemiologist and academic adviser to the government.

As more people travel back to these areas over the holidays, there is a greater risk the virus will spread to those populations, some of which have been partially protected by their isolation, he said.

“It will not be as bad as what we saw in July and August, but if we maybe look at the first wave, in January 2020, maybe it will be similar due to their vulnerability,” he said.

Because Indonesia started early with its vaccination program, there's also more likelihood that the effectiveness is now waning, he said. Boosters are planned but probably will not begin until early 2022.

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