3.3 million covid-19 vaccine doses needed by bali to reach inoculation target

Bali still need a supply of around 3.3 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in order to inoculate two-thirds of its people, according to the governor, despite the fact that official case counts have been declining in recent weeks.

As of June 3, about 1.35 million individuals in Bali had received their first vaccination dosage, according to data from Indonesia's Health Ministry, with around 646,000 having received their second shot by this time.

Governor Wayan Koster stated that the province has received around 2.7 million doses so far, and that it will needs around 3.3 million more to fulfil its aim of vaccinating at least 70% of its 4.32 million inhabitants.

Bali began its mass vaccination effort in mid-January, with the intended goal of finishing by June 30. At the current rate of progress, Koster is apparently extending the deadline to July at the very least.

Indonesia suggested in March that it would open to international tourists by the middle of this year, and official efforts appear to be focused on keeping to that timeframe. However, there has recently been a greater emphasis on its Work from Bali initiative, which is currently being worked out at the official level and might be implemented by the third quarter of this year.

Though numbers from the provincial government in Bali indicate a downward trend in COVID-19 cases and a generally optimistic outlook in terms of fatality and recovery rates, an exclusive report from Reuters published yesterday suggests that official data may only represent a small fraction of the pandemic's true severity in Indonesia.

According to the article, which cites early findings from a seroprevalence research undertaken by the University of Udayana, the rate of infection in Bali is 53 times greater in September and November than was previously reported.

Throughout the pandemic, public health professionals have regularly expressed worries about Indonesia's lack of testing and tracking, and Bali in particular has not publicly provided data on this front.

Bali Health Agency Chief Ketut Suarjaya stated that the province conducts between 500 and 600 tests each day, despite the fact that laboratories in the province have the capability to analyze around 2,500 samples per day, stressing that tracing efforts have been particularly poor. According to him, health officials have only been able to trace each COVID-19 case down to eight or nine individuals, although the recommended number is between 25 and 30.