29 Percent of Indonesians Still Unwilling to Take Covid-19 Vaccine

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – President Joko Widodo still has much to do in convincing Indonesians to take vaccinate themselves against Covid-19, more than a year after the government acknowledged that it struck Indonesia on March 2, 2020.

A survey by the Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting [SMRC] polling body revealed that more than a quarter of Indonesians are unwilling to be vaccinated for Covid-19, even as the coronavirus struck over a million Indonesians and killed about 40 thousand of those cases.

Resisting government policy

“When asked if they are willing to be vaccinated once the [Covid-19] vaccine is available, 29 percent of the respondents said no. This is a more substantial number than we expected,” said SMRC Research Director Deni Irvani on Tuesday.

“Most of these respondents, or 33 percent, were men, while 26 percent were women. The difference is even smaller in demographic terms, with 30 percent of them in rural areas while 28 percent were from urban areas.”

He also noted that most of the respondents, or 34 percent, only had an elementary school education. However, Deni pointed out that those in higher education were not far behind, with 26 percent saying they do not want to be inoculated.

“37 percent of those unwilling to be vaccinated are young people under the age of 25.”

Also read: AstraZeneca Vaccine Divides Devout Muslims in East Java, Indonesia

He said that geography and differences in political cultures or traditions seemed to influence the respondents’ answers.

“33 percent of those unwilling to be vaccinated are from islands outside of Java, with 32 percent saying they are from Sumatra, while 27 percent were from Java. ”

Deni said 27 percent of those unwilling to receive their shots against Covid-19 are from Java. Of this number, 33 percent live in Jakarta.

He noted that of the naysayers, “25 percent said they do not believe that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe for their health, with one percent strongly disbelieving in the vaccine.

KOMPAS.com / KRISTIANTO PURNOMO A group of elderly officials from the Ministry of Health get their Covid-19 vaccination at the BBPK Campus in Hang Jebat, Jakarta, on Monday (22/3/2021).

A slim majority for a clear case

The SMRC survey showed that most Indonesians are willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19, though this number is less than half. “46 of respondents are willing to vaccinated, against 23 percent who are undecided and two percent who failed to answer the question,” added Deni.

“If the latter two categories changed their minds and are willing to be vaccinated, then the number of people willing to get the Covid-19 vaccination can potentially reach 61 percent.”

But Deni maintained that “58 percent of those who are willing to be vaccinated believed the vaccine is safe to use, with six percent saying they highly believe in the vaccine’s effectiveness [against Covid-19].”

He said that respondents who expressed approval for the Covid-19 vaccine were less equivocal about free vaccinations for the Indonesian public.

Also read: 36 Percent of Indonesian Muslims Reject the Covid-19 Vaccine

“80 percent agreed that the Covid-19 vaccinations should be given free of charge to the Indonesian public, while 15 percent believed that more affluent members of society should get paid vaccinations, while five percent did not answer,” Deni maintained.

On the other hand, 71 percent expressed their belief that the government can meet the Indonesian people’s need for the Covid-19 vaccine.

SMRC held the nationwide survey between February 28 to March 8. The polling body interviewed 1,064 respondents who were selected randomly. The survey has a 3.07 percent margin of error.

Indonesia started mass vaccinations against the coronavirus on January 13. The government aims to vaccinate 70 percent of Indonesia’s population, or 182 million people, to gain herd immunity against Covid-19.

(Writers: Fitria Chusna Farisa, Dian Erika Nugraheny | Editors: Krisiandi, Diamanty Meiliana, Dani Prabowo)

Sources: 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/23/15103401/survei-smrc-29-persen-responden-tak-mau-divaksinasi-covid-19. 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/23/15495731/survei-smrc-25-persen-responden-tak-percaya-keamanan-vaksin-covid-19?page=all#page2. 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/23/15493701/survei-smrc-mayoritas-warga-pulau-jawa-yang-tak-mau-divaksin-ada-di-dki. 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/23/18471511/survei-smrc-mayoritas-responden-setuju-vaksin-covid-19-diberikan-gratis?page=all#page2.