Indonesia Highlights: NGOs to Monitor Autopsy of Murdered Papuan Priest | Indonesian Ministry of Health: Covid-19 Vaccine No Coronavirus Cure | Number of Indonesians Under the Poverty Line Surges

“A recipient of a Covid-19 vaccine can still contract the coronavirus. But if they get vaccinated, their body will receive defenses that will keep them from falling ill,” said Ministry of Health spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi on Monday, February 15.

Nadia pointed out that the vaccine can build up an individual’s antibody gradually. “The first dosage [of the Covid-19] vaccine can build up 60 percent of the recipient’s antibody. If they take their second dosage, their antibody [against Covid-19] can increase to 95 percent.”

Meanwhile, President Joko ' Jokowi' Widodo has called on the Indonesian armed forces and Indonesian National Police to support the government's mass Covid-19 inoculation drive.

"The armed forces and police are well-placed to enforce health protocols, because their respective command structures reached to village or neighborhood levels," he said.

"Their ability to enforce [the law] in a coordinated manner can also help break the Covid-19 chain of transmission." The government aims to vaccinate about 70 percent of Indonesia’s population, or 182 million people, to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19.

Source:

https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/02/16/013116374/indonesian-ministry-of-health-covid-19-vaccine-not-a-coronavirus-cure?page=all#page2. 

Number of Indonesians Under the Poverty Line Surges Due to Covid-19

The Statistics Indonesia [BPS] agency announced that the Covid-19 pandemic set back the government’s efforts to fight poverty during President Joko Widodo’s second term in office.

“The number of Indonesians living below the poverty line in September 2020 has reached 27.55 million people, up from 24.97 million people in September 2019,” notes BPS head Suhariyanto on Monday, February 15.

He added that this figure represents 10.19 percent of Indonesia’s population. “The primary cause for this rise in people [living below the poverty line] is the decline in income felt by all levels of society,” Suhariyanto noted.

“The lower classes felt the pinch more than [the middle and upper classes]. Seven out of 10 respondents from the lower-class said their incomes decreased significantly, compared to three out of 10 among their well-heeled counterparts.”

Suhariyanto added that the pandemic adversely affected employment numbers.

“Covid-19 has affected the earnings of 29.12 million Indonesians of working age. 2.56 million people are unemployed for the long term, while 1.77 million were temporarily unemployed,” Suhariyanto said.

“The number of unemployed has increased to 7.07 percent in August 2020, up from 5.23 percent during the same period in 2019. 24 million saw their incomes decreased, along with their working hours.”

The BPS also noted that the poverty index rose from 1.62 percent in March 2020 to 1.75 percent in September 2020.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/02/16/061653674/number-of-indonesians-under-the-poverty-line-surges-due-to-covid-19.