In Indonesia, Sinovac vaccine clashes with anti-Chinese sentiment
An Indonesian woman receives a dose of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine during a mass vaccination of employees of a shopping center in Tangerang on March 1, 2021. AP - Tatan Syuflana
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
It has just been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), but in Indonesia, the country that has bought the most doses from China so far, the Chinese vaccine is very suspicious.
Despite 92 million doses received, the vast majority from Sinovac, less than 4% of Indonesians have so far been vaccinated.
Anti-Chinese sentiment is one of the brakes on vaccination in the country, according to a recent study.
Publicity
Read more
With our regional correspondent in South-East Asia,
Gabrielle Maréchaux
Whether through
videos
of the Minister of Health on Instagram, or
fines
for those who refuse to be vaccinated, Indonesia has been doing everything since January to encourage its population to be vaccinated, without much success. A mistrust that appealed to Sharyn Graham Davies, anthropologist and director of the Herb Feith Indonesia Engagement Center. “
What surprised me is that Indonesians get massively vaccinated normally, against measles, mumps and rubella, and usually don't care where the vaccine comes from. It was also found that there were new mistrust of vaccination, such as the idea that China has bad intentions.
"
Among
the arguments raised
by people polled by Sharyn Graham Davies' research team, the fact that China imports European vaccines.
This would be proof for them that the Chinese vaccine is not effective.
Another argument: the lack of transparency in the composition of the vaccine, which for them would not be halal.
Historical mistrust and current fears
If mistrust of China is therefore recurrent when it comes to the Sinovac vaccine, it is not unprecedented in Indonesia, the anthropologist recalls: “
It dates back at least to 1965, when so-called Communists were accused of having instigated a coup d'etat.
Communism has since been banned in the country and China inspires mistrust.
"
"
You combine this today with the fear that the Chinese will steal jobs from Indonesians,
continues Sharyn Graham Davies,
with the fear of relocations to China, and then finally with the fact that the coronavirus is coming from China, that the Indonesians cannot today not travel, but that they have seen since the start of the pandemic Chinese workers arrive at their homes, and you have the recipe for the current anti-Chinese sentiment.
"
Using another vaccine for skeptics
For Najmah (1), lecturer at the faculty of public health at the University of Sriwijaya, this current distrust of the Sinovac vaccine can have consequences that go far beyond the vaccination program against Covid-19. For this, she cites in particular the case of this interviewee who now refuses to vaccinate her child against measles, for fear that this is an opportunity for the health authorities to also vaccinate him against Covid-19.
“
We see that trust is broken between the population and the health authorities,
analyzes the researcher,
and it is really very sad.
The government must take this problem head on and solve it with more transparency and less enforcement action.
Because there is a kind of collective resistance if the government tries to resolve this with more sanctions.
"
For Dr. Dicky Budiman, epidemiologist at Griffith University, the answer could also be pragmatic: “
One strategy could be to use a vaccine other than Sinovac for those who are skeptical.
When you face such strong beliefs, you have to find another way and not try to fight them head-on.
"
►
See also: Covid-19: Beijing's vaccine diplomacy in Southeast Asia
(1) Like many Indonesians, she has only one first name.
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Indonesia
China
Vaccines
Coronavirus
On the same subject
Indonesia expresses concern over mistreatment issues aboard Chinese fishing vessels
Covid-19: Beijing's vaccine diplomacy in Southeast Asia
Asia frequency
Chinese vaccine diplomacy