Only one in three Indonesians willing to pay for vaccine, new survey finds
AN ONLINE survey carried out by Indonesia’s health ministry has found that only one-third of Indonesians wanting to get Covid-19 shots are willing to pay for a vaccine.
The survey was carried out alongside the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ITAGI) with support from UNICEF and the World Health Organisation from September 19 to 30. More than 115,000 respondents in 508 of all 514 cities and regencies across the country’s 34 provinces were questioned.
The report found that 65 per cent of respondents were willing to receive a Covid-19 vaccine if it is available for public use, while nearly eight per cent said they would reject it. The remaining 27 per cent of respondents said they were still hesitant – which the report described as a group that was “critical for a successful vaccination programme”.
However, among those who wished to be vaccinated, only 35 per cent were willing to pay for it. Approximately 38 per cent were unwilling to pay, and the remaining 27 per cent were undecided.
Respondents’ willingness to pay for the inoculation varied between 32 and 41 per cent in provinces of Java. The survey also found that people in Papua, Kalimantan, Maluku and the Lesser Sunda Islands – like Bali, Lombok and Flores – generally showed a higher willingness to pay, and those in provinces of Sulawesi and Sumatra were least willing to pay.
Overall, the lowest level of willingness to pay was reported by day labourers, drivers and domestic helpers at 12 per cent, although 60 per cent of them would like to get vaccinated.
More than 31 per cent of those willing to accept the
vaccines and pay for them said they would only pay up to 50,000 rupiah ($3.54), while 28 per cent would pay up to 100,000 rupiah and about four per cent would fork out more than 500,000 rupiah.
This trend reflected a connection between affordability and the socioeconomic status of the respondents, the report said. Most of those still undecided about paying for a vaccine said they would not pay
more than 50,000 rupiah.
Most of those still undecided about paying for a vaccine said they would not pay more than 50,000 rupiah.
Health minister Terawan Agus Putranto has said that the government only plans to cover the cost of inoculation for 32 million of the 107 million people targeted to receive Covid19 vaccines by 2022, which has sparked criticism and calls for wider coverage of free vaccines.
Terawan said the vaccination programme would target 67 per cent of 167 million people aged between 18 and 56 years, as recommended by the ITAGI. The remaining 75 million people would have to pay for their vaccines at private hospitals and clinics.
Experts have expressed concern that such a private scheme may stall Indonesia’s efforts to reach the desired coverage necessary to achieve herd im
munity, especially in a country that has seen its people avoiding vaccination for other diseases for various reasons, including religious concerns.
The report said: “Respondents raised significant concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness, expressed their lack of trust in a vaccine and raised concerns about the haram-halal classification of vaccines.”