JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In conjunction with World Immunization Week, Pfizer Indonesia, together with healthcare professionals has launched "For the Reasons that Matter", a public awareness campaign focused on adult respiratory health. Rolling out simultaneously across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, the campaign brings together medical experts and healthcare professionals to raise awareness of how serious respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza, RSV and pneumococcal disease, can affect quality of life, independence and the ability to remain present for the people and responsibilities that matter most.
Ms Deborah Seifert, Cluster Lead, Pfizer Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines with Participating Partners Across MISP
"Across all four of our markets, we are seeing a clear gap between what adults want for their health and the steps they take to protect it. Many adults care deeply about staying well, yet conversations about respiratory health are often delayed until something feels urgent. ‘For the Reasons that Matter’ was created to make this conversation more relevant, more human and more actionable. It is about helping adults stay well as they get older, with healthcare professionals playing a vital role in guiding those conversations," said Ms Deborah Seifert, Cluster Lead, Pfizer Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Indonesia illustrates the challenge with particular clarity. With a population of more than 280 million, Indonesia is among the most populous nations in the world, and it is ageing: the elderly population aged 60 and above reached nearly 34 million people in 2025, representing approximately 12% of the national population, according to BPS-Statistics Indonesia. Against this backdrop, acute respiratory infections are Indonesia’s most-reported disease, with more than 13 million cases recorded through November 2025 alone, according to the Ministry of Health.
World Immunization Week, observed annually in the last week of April, is a reminder that the science of protection has no age limit. Serious respiratory illnesses, including influenza, RSV, COVID-19 and pneumococcal disease, are not only childhood concerns. For older adults and those with underlying conditions, serious respiratory illness can mean not just weeks of illness but a lasting reduction in the independence and quality of life they have worked to maintain. Respiratory illnesses do not check your calendar, and they do not wait for a convenient time to strike.
"What the data on Indonesia’s rainy season tells us is that respiratory illness here is not random. It is seasonal, it is predictable, and for adults with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or other chronic conditions, it is genuinely dangerous. A case fatality rate of around 5% for community-acquired pneumonia is not a number we should accept as inevitable. It reflects the consequence of serious illness arriving in patients who were not prepared for it. Our job as clinicians is to start that conversation before the season does," said Dr Dirga Rambe, Internal Medicine Specialist.
At the heart of the campaign is a simple but powerful truth: adults protect their health not for health’s sake alone, but for the people and the life they cannot afford to lose. In Indonesia, this truth is felt in particularly vivid terms. It is the mother who is the anchor of a multi-generational household. The father who drives his children to school, supports his parents and shows up for work every day. The grandparent whose presence is the heartbeat of the family.
Adults, especially older adults and those with conditions such as diabetes, hypertension or chronic lung disease, should speak to a doctor about maintaining their health and reducing their risk of serious respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, influenza, RSV and pneumococcal disease.
