Jokowi may allow private sector to offer Covid-19 vaccinations

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo is considering a plan to allow private vaccinations in the country as his administration races to inoculate 181 million citizens while Covid-19 cases continue to rise ? despite experts? concerns about the impact of the policy on less-fortunate groups.

Jokowi said on Thursday (Jan 21) that the private sector?s involvement in the vaccination effort might accelerate the process, which is currently expected to take up to 15 months.

?We haven?t decided yet, ? Jokowi said during a virtual event.

?We have to speed up; we need as many [resources] as possible. Especially if businesses bear the costs themselves, why not??

Businesses might be able to offer different brands of vaccine than those used in the government programme, he added.