Indonesia to Receive 15 Million Doses of Covid-19 Bulk Vaccine Tomorrow

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – A total of 15 million doses of Covid-19 bulk vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech are scheduled to arrive in Indonesia tomorrow, the country’s top health official said on Monday, January 11.

“A good news is that 15 million doses of vaccine in bulk from Sinovac, InsyaAllah [God willing], will arrive here tomorrow,” Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a virtual press conference broadcast via the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel.

The bulk vaccine will be processed in about a month by state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma, said Minister Budi.

Also read: Indonesia Receives 1.2 Million Doses of Covid-19 Vaccine from China’s Sinovac

“By early February we will have 12 million doses of vaccines which will be made of the 15 million doses of Covid-19 bulk vaccine,” said Budi.

Besides, Budi added, Indonesia has also collaborated multilaterally with GAVI, a Swiss-based international vaccine alliance, for getting more Covid-19 vaccines.

It is hoped that the cooperation will give access to free vaccines from 54 million doses to 108 million doses. GAVI will provide several types of vaccines, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, or Novavax.

Also read: Indonesia Signs Request Form to Access Up To 108 Million Doses of Free Covid-19 Vaccine

“We are currently in discussion with our senior minister to choose the free vaccine as those types are safe to be given to persons aged 60,” he said.

Hopefully, the vaccine provided by GAVI will arrive in the country in February or March this year.

It was previously reported that 180 million or 70 percent of Indonesia’s population is expected to receive the Covid-19 shot. This also means that the country needs about 426 million doses of vaccine during the inoculation program, which is scheduled to begin this week.

(Writer: Fitria Chusna Farisa | Editor: Krisiandi)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/11/14133281/menkes-besok-15-juta-bahan-baku-vaksin-sinovac-tiba-di-indonesia.