Government ensures stock of 329.5 million doses of vaccines

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government is ensuring the stock of 329.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines ordered from various manufacturers, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"I also need to mention about the number of vaccine doses that we have ordered. The firm orders include three million plus 122.5 million (doses) from Sinovac, then 50 million from Novavax, 54 million from Covax GAVI, 50 million from AstraZeneca, and 50 million (doses of) vaccine from Pfizer. It means the total number of firm orders reaches 329.5 million (doses of) vaccines," the president noted at the State Palace here on Wednesday.

As many as three million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech arrived in Indonesia in two batches of 1.2 million doses on December 6, 2020, and 1.8 million doses on December 31, 2020, for distribution to various regions in Indonesia.

Novavax is a vaccine manufactured by the United States and Canada. AstraZeneca is produced by the UK, and Pfizer is a vaccine produced jointly by pharmaceutical companies of Germany and the United States.

Meanwhile, Covax GAVI is a multilateral cooperation between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) that comprises 171 countries, with a target of providing two billion vaccines by the end of 2021.

"The management will be conducted by the health minister. Hence, I seek our readiness for vaccination that has to be checked and controlled by the governors," Jokowi stated.

President Jokowi also called on the ministers and governors to work hard, so that tracing, testing, and treatment (3T) and mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing (3M) can be implemented optimally on the field.

The head of state cited a survey showing that Indonesians were not exercising sufficient discipline in implementing health protocols against the spread of COVID-19.