How countries, particularly low- and middle-income economies, should pay the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine is an important and understudied issue. We undertook an online survey to measure the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a COVID-19 vaccine and its determinants in Indonesia. The WTP was assessed using a simple dichotomous contingent valuation approach and a linear regression model was used to assess its associated determinants. There were 1,359 respondents who completed the survey. In total, 78.3% (1,065) were willing to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine with a mean and median WTP of US$ 57.20 (95%CI: US$ 54.56, US$ 59.85) and US$ 30.94 (95%CI: US$ 30.94, US$ 30.94), respectively. Being a health-care worker, having a high income, and having high perceived risk were associated with higher WTP. These findings suggest that the WTP for a COVID-19 vaccine is relatively high in Indonesia. This WTP information can be used to construct a payment model for a COVID-19 vaccine in the country. Nevertheless, to attain higher vaccine coverage, it may be necessary to partially subsidize the vaccine for those who are less wealthy and to design health promotion materials to increase the perceived risk for COVID-19 in the country.
The fourth roundtable meeting of the Global Influenza Initiative (GII) was held in Hong Kong, China, in July 2015. An objective of this meeting was to gain a broader understanding of the epidemiology, surveillance, vaccination policies and programs, and obstacles to vaccination of influenza in the Asia-Pacific region through presentations of data from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. As well as a need for improved levels of surveillance in some areas, a range of factors were identified that act as barriers to vaccination in some countries, including differences in climate and geography, logistical challenges, funding, lack of vaccine awareness and education, safety concerns, perceived lack of vaccine effectiveness, and lack of inclusion in national guidelines. From the presentations at the meeting, the GII discussed a number of recommendations for easing the burden of influenza and overcoming the current challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. These recommendations encompass the need to improve surveillance and availability of epidemiological data; the development and publication of national guidelines, where not currently available and/or that are in line with those proposed by the World Health Organization; the requirement for optimal timing of vaccination programs according to local or country-specific epidemiology; and calls for advocacy and government support of vaccination programs in order to improve availability and uptake and coverage. In conclusion, in addition to the varied epidemiology of seasonal influenza across this diverse region, there are a number of logistical and resourcing issues that present a challenge to the development of optimally effective vaccination strategies and that need to be overcome to improve access to and uptake of seasonal influenza vaccines. The GII has developed a number of recommendations to address these challenges and improve the control of influenza.