Galvanized by alarming spikes in numbers of positive cases and deaths resulting from the Delta variant of Covid-19, Bio Farma is accelerating the production of Covid-19 vaccines. Yet, vaccine stocks remain stagnant with uneven distribution in many regions. With a production capacity of up to 6 million doses per week or 250 million doses a year, Bio Farma’s CEO Honesti Basyir hopes that the company can fulfill the country’s vaccine need.

Right after his appointment as Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Kadin) Chair, Arsjad Rasjid launched the ‘War against the Pandemic’ movement. Alongside the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police (Polri), he urged businesses to get involved seriously to fight the pandemic. Arsjad says Kadin is helping the government with vaccination and medical oxygen supply. But he dismisses the assertion that Kadin plans to sell vaccines through the Gotong Royong vaccination program.

Secretary-General of the Indonesian Hospital Association (Persi) Lia Gardenia: adding more beds for Covid-19 patients will not solve the problem if the problems at the upstream are not resolved.

Below are excerpts from an interview with Sung Y. Kim, new United States Ambassador to Indonesia. Ambassador Sung Kim was born in Seoul to South Korean parents. Having spent the majority of his diplomatic career in Asia, he has a deep understanding of the region. This is his first interview with the local media since his arrival in Jakarta last June. He discussed vaccine assistance (to Indonesia), the weapon system procurement as well as cooperation for mitigating climate change issues.

At last, SOEs Minister Erick Thohir intervened and tackled the medical oxygen and Covid medication shortages that plagued many hospitals. Erick mobilized several SOEs to help meet the needs of referral hospitals particularly in Java. He also instructed Indofarma and Kimia Farma to boost ivermectin production to fill the market with ample supplies. Although the BPOM has not approved the drug, Erick is pushing its use given the efficacy and minimal side effects proven in several countries. Amid the marked increase in Covid cases, Erick, who also leads Covid-19 Mitigation and Economic Recovery Working Committee makes frequent rounds of site inspection to check on oxygen and Covid drug supplies, all the while continuing with measures to transform SOEs.

The explosion of new Covid-19 cases in the past month will see the increase in health care expenditure, mainly to purchase 400 million doses of vaccines and for patient treatment. The emergency has compelled Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to recalculate the budget as the health ministry increased its budget from Rp172 trillion to around Rp185 trillion. Having experienced in dealing with the 1997-1998 and 2008 financial crises, Sri Mulyani says the Covid-19 presents challenges that are starkly different from those of the previous economic calamities.