It means some 170 million people must receive the vaccine, and this brings the total budget to Rp75 trillion.Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government will require at least Rp75 trillion (US$5 billion) to procure the COVID-19 vaccine, Ariyo D. P. Irhamna, a researcher at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), stated.
"I attempted to do a simple calculation on the costs to be incurred in procuring the COVID-19 vaccine because Mr President (Joko Widodo) has planned to provide the vaccine in Indonesia next year," Irhamna noted during an online discussion here on Thursday.
The cost, estimated at Rp75 trillion, was based on the price of Sinovac's vaccine at US$30 per individual, or some Rp400 thousand per person.
Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) standard, the vaccine should be administered to at least 70 percent of the country's population.
"It means some 170 million people must receive the vaccine, and this brings the total budget to Rp75 trillion," he elaborated.
However, the estimation has yet to take into account the cost for logistics, medical workers, and other requirements for vaccination.
"This is a rough estimation, as we do not take into account the cost for logistics, medical workers, and others," he remarked.
The government has allocated budget of Rp25.4 trillion for the health sector in the revised state budget 2021, much lower than the 2020 budget, at Rp87.55 trillion.
The budget will be utilized for COVID-19 vaccine procurement, immunization, development of health facilities, laboratories, research and development, and assistance for BPJS premium.
"Maybe this (the cost estimation) has yet to be included in the budget. However, it should be there because the president has planned for this (vaccination) next year," he stated.
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