VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 10 - The number of Indonesians receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine rose by 239,001 to reach 3,337,026 as of Tuesday afternoon, the Task Force for COVID-19 Handling reported.

In the meantime, 39,340 additional people received their second vaccine shot, bringing the total count to 1,197,772.

The first phase of vaccinations kicked off on January 13, 2021 and targeted 1,468,764 healthcare workers.

The second phase of vaccinations started on February 17, 2021 and is targeting 38 million people, comprising over 21 million senior citizens and 16 million public service officers, including state officials, government employees, religious figures, traders, teachers, lecturers, athletes, journalists, and tourism operators.

Vice Health Minister Dante Saksono said the government is aiming to vaccinate around 21.5 million elderly people against COVID-19 by June this year.

On Tuesday, the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) also issued an emergency-use authorization (EUA) for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The agency also endorsed the entry of the vaccine by issuing a special entry permit.

With the issuance of the EUA, Indonesia will soon receive the first batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVAX Facility of the global cooperation scheme for vaccine and immunization (GAVI).

The government has set a target of inoculating 181,554,465 people, or 70 percent of the total population of Indonesia, to build herd immunity against the coronavirus. (Antaranews)