Whether the vaccine will soon be discovered and can be distributed will have an extraordinary impact on all activities of the community, including economic activities.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has stressed that national economic recovery would largely depend on the availability of the novel coronavirus vaccine.



Once a vaccine is found, the government will distribute it to the public and expedite the treatment of COVID-19 patients, she said at an online discussion here on Thursday.



"Whether the vaccine will soon be discovered and can be distributed will have an extraordinary impact on all activities of the community, including economic activities,” she opined.



She described the COVID-19 pandemic as a human disaster that has affected almost all aspects of public life, ranging from social, political, cultural, to economic interactions.



As a result, the economies of all countries have come under pressure, and many of them have contracted, including the Indonesian economy, which grew minus 4.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020, she remarked.



"The drop was the result of declining public consumption, contracted investment, and a sharp decline in exports and imports," she explained.



She said the government has drafted various policies to address the impact of COVID-19 through the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program.



The PEN program needs a sizable amount of funds, while state revenues from tax receipts have come under pressure, thereby prompting the government to raise the budget deficit limit to 6.34 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP).



"The economic recovery program needs huge resources, while at the same time, tax receipts have declined so the state suffered a deficit of above 6 percent," the minister noted.



She assured that the government will implement the PEN program in a fast, accurate, and accountable way in the current state of emergency.



"The government realizes that it must take accountable steps during the extraordinary and emergency situation," she said.



Indonesia aims to obtain 30 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by PT Bio Farma by the end of 2020, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, said on Wednesday.



"We hope that by the end of this year, we will have access to 30 million doses of the vaccine produced at Bio Farma. This is the foremost initiative," he added.



Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had stated earlier that China and the United Arab Emirates have assured they would supply 290 million to 340 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia by the end of 2021.



Marsudi and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, in his capacity as chief of the Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN), paid visits to China and the United Arab Emirates last week as part of efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccine supplies. (INE)


Related news: Minister upbeat of Red White vaccine clinical trial in early 2021

Related news: COVID-19 vaccines included in Indonesia's research priorities: govt

EDITED BY INE

Translator: Astrid Faidlatul H/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2020