Indonesia is planning to give adults of working age the COVID-19 vaccine before the elderly get their vaccines, in an effort to quickly achieve collective immunity.
Indonesia’s health minister estimated that about 181.5 million people, or 67% of the population, would need to be vaccinated to obtain collective immunity.
The country, which is using the Chinese Sinovac Biotech vaccine, also says it does not have enough data on how the vaccine affects older people because clinical tests have been conducted on people aged 18 to 59. Indonesia also hopes to receive the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines soon.
The country’s approach is very different from that of the USA, which prioritizes health professionals and the elderly with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Dale Fisher, a professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, said he believed both approaches could work.
“Young working adults are generally more active, more social and travel more, so this strategy should decrease transmission in the community more quickly than vaccinating older individuals,” Fisher told Reuters.
“It is clear that the elderly are at greater risk of serious illness and death, so vaccinating them has an alternative justification. I see merit in both strategies. “
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