Indonesian Minister of Finance Suggests 1 Million Daily Vaccinations to Jumpstart Economy

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati has urged an increase in the rate of daily vaccinations nationwide to help jumpstart the economy.

“A quick, efficient vaccination process can stimulate economic growth, especially in the first quarter of 2022,” she said at a hearing with the House of Representatives’ Commission XI on finances, national development planning, banks and other financial institutions.

“Economic growth in 2022 will be influenced by the [rate] of vaccinations and Covid-19 itself. If we do not attain sufficient numbers of vaccinations, then it will affect economic growth for 2022."

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While Sri Mulyani acknowledged progress has been made, she said the government still has its work cut out for it.

“[The government] has vaccinated about 300 thousand doses of [the Covid-19] vaccine on a daily basis, or 26.89 million doses, a marked increase since the Eid al-Fitr or Idul Fitri holidays. That puts the country 11th on the global list of vaccinations.”

SETPRES-KRIS Presiden Joko Widodo (left) and Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (middle) survey the mass vaccination of health workers with Sinovac's Coronavac vaccine at Jakarta's Istora Senayan Stadium on Thursday, February 4.

The former Managing Director of the World Bank Group asserted that Indonesia needs to double, even triple the amount of daily vaccinations, to make a difference for the economy.

Also read: Finance Minister Forecast Indonesia's Economic Growth at 8.3 Percent in Q2 Due to Seasonal Factors

“[Indonesia’s] vaccination rate has not reached 500 thousand doses, much less one million,” Sri Mulyani added. “If we can vaccinate 1 million doses on a daily basis [to the end of the year], then we can attain herd immunity by the first quarter [of 2022].”

Last week, Sri Mulyani projected Indonesia’s economic growth to reach between 7.1 to 8.3 percent in the second quarter of 2021, though it experienced a 0.74 percent contraction in the first quarter of the year.

She added that the economic growth is stimulated by a 6 to 6.8 percent increase in household consumption, following an increase in public mobility between April and May due to the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

(Writer: Elsa Catriana | Editor: Bambang P. Jatmiko)

Source: 

https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/06/02/133000826/sri-mulyani-agar-berdampak-positif-ke-perekonomian-vaksinasi-harus-capai-1.