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3. Covid-19 Vaccines Are Safe, Says Jokowi

As Indonesia will soon begin its first mass Covid-19 inoculation program, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has assured the safety of the vaccines following a series of the testing process.

“I emphasize that the Covid-19 vaccine has been tested in various countries and it has been proven to be safe,” said Jokowi during his speech at the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)’s 48th anniversary held virtually on Sunday, January 10.

He said that before the Covid-19 jab drive takes place, the vaccines will have to be approved by the Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) through the issuance of emergency use authorization (EUA).

Currently, the government is still waiting for the BPOM to issue the EUA. It is expected that the EUA will be issued next week. “We hope this mass vaccination program to start as soon as possible after the BPOM issues a permit,” said Jokowi.

Jokowi also said that the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) had conducted tests to ensure that the vaccine is allowed by Islam, or halal.

The President said 182 million or 70 percent of Indonesia’s population will receive the shot. This also means that the country needs about 426 million doses of vaccine.

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2021/01/10/20172541/jokowi-saya-tegaskan-vaksin-covid-19-yang-akan-digunakan-terbukti-aman.