
JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo pledged Wednesday to provide free COVID-19 vaccinations to all Indonesians, a promise that comes as daily cases continue to surge in the Southeast Asian country.
"The COVID-19 vaccine for the community is free," Widodo said in a national address on YouTube. "I instruct all levels of the cabinet, ministries, institutions and local governments to prioritize the vaccine budget in 2021. I instruct the minister of finance to prioritize and reallocate other budgets related to the availability and free vaccination so that there is no reason for the public not to get vaccines."