Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Technology giant Grab requests early access to the Covid-19 vaccine for their driver partners and merchants as part of the prioritized vulnerable population.
The national vaccination campaign officially began on Wednesday, with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo getting the first dose of the vaccine.
The vaccine rollout follows a priority list, with medical workers as the first group to be inoculated. Second on the queue are the public service workers and the elderly.
The third priority group is the vulnerable population from the geospatial, social, and economic aspects. Fourth is the public and other economic actors via a cluster approach and depending on the vaccine supply. These last two groups will receive their shot around April 2021 to March 2022.
Grab considers their driver and merchant partners, as well as the GrabKios agents, deserve to be in the third priority group, given their high mobility and contribution throughout the pandemic.
"Grab is sincerely requesting the government to consider its partners to receive early access to the vaccine, so they can continue to play a valuable role in helping Indonesian communities and reviving the economy," Grab Indonesia President Ridzki Kramadibrata said a written statement on Wednesday.
According to Ridzki, Grab partners and agents have continued to ensure people across the nation have access to their daily needs amid the pandemic. Whether it is by giving the people rides with strict health protocols or delivering food and daily essentials to their doorstep.
"As the people do their part to fight the pandemic by staying at home, our driver partners, merchant partners, and GrabKios agents are on the front line to keep the communities running," Ridzki said.
"We believe [the partners] should be prioritized because of the essential services they provide and the critical role they will play throughout the pandemic," he added.
Ridzki asserted Grab is ready to support the national vaccination campaign with its technologies and extensive network. The decacorn is more than willing to help disseminate the importance of the vaccine and fight misinformation via their platform.
Grab is also ready to work together with the government to accelerate the vaccine distribution across the nation, Ridzki said. In addition, Grab offers in-app health consultations by Good Doctor's medical professionals to address questions about the vaccine.