40 Million Indonesians to Receive First Covid-19 Vaccinations

KOMPAS.com – The Indonesian Ministry of Health is set vaccinate more than 40 million people in the first stage of mass vaccinations against Covid-19, after the country received three million vaccines from China’s Sinovac pharmaceutical company in December 2020 and January 2021.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi said the stage will last between January 15 to 25 2021. “The first stage will be given to around 1.3 million medical workers as well as 17.4 million officials. The next group will be the elderly aged 60 and over,” she said on Saturday, January 2.

“At 21.5 million people, they make up the majority of recipients of the first stage. The last group will be vaccinated once we verify information about the vaccine’s safety from its Emergency Use Authorization.”

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She added that the second stage, which lasts from April 2021 to March 2022, will focus on members of the public between the ages of 18 to 59 and others.

“63.9 million of the vaccines are earmarked for those in society that we deemed vulnerable to Covid-19, while 77.4 million vaccines are set aside for those who acquired Covid-19 from clusters. However, this depends on the availability of the vaccine.”

Nadia added that the vaccine’s use on comorbid recipients with one or more pre-existing conditions are also pending. “The use of the vaccines on comorbid recipients is still pending a recommendation from the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization [ITAGI] and various experts.”

Dok SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN The second batch of 1.8 million vaccines from the Sinovac pharmaceutical company in China arrives in Jakartas Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at the end of December 2020

Also read: Healthcare Workers in Java and Bali to Get Covid-19 Vaccine First: Ministry of Health

Other factors include the issuing of a permit for the vaccine by the Food and Drug Agency from BPOM. Nadia asserted that the Ministry will send messages for those eligible to receive the vaccines.

The public can also check their eligibility for the vaccine on www.pedulilindungi.id , the Ministry website for the purpose.

Aside from Sinovac, Indonesia also ordered vaccines from pharmaceutical companies like CanSino, AstraZeneca, and Novavax.

(Writer: Retia Kartika Dewi | Editor: Rizal Setyo Nugroho)

Source: 

https://www.kompas.com/tren/read/2021/01/02/205404065/402-juta-orang-akan-terima-vaksin-covid-19-tahap-pertama-ini-rinciannya?page=all#page2.