VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The United States shipped 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Indonesia on Monday to help the country battle a surge in COVID-19 infections, US Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced on Tuesday.

The new tranche of vaccine doses is in addition to the 3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine that the Biden administration announced late last week, bringing the total doses donated by the US to Indonesia to 4.5 million.

“I’m so pleased to announce today the United States is sending 1.5 million American vaccine doses to Indonesia as the nation faces a tragic surge in COVID cases and deaths," Senator Duckworth, who is also a combat veteran, said in a statement released by the US embassy here on Tuesday.

"These American vaccines will supplement the 3 million doses we sent last week and they come with no strings attached, but rather with the knowledge that no nation can be completely safe from COVID-19 until all nations are — so we have to work together to save lives and help bring an end to this awful pandemic everywhere."

"I’ll keep working closely with the Indonesian government to support the people of Indonesia and make sure they receive the safe, effective vaccines doses and international aid they need to reach the other side of this deadly pandemic,” she remarked.

Duckworth said she lived in Indonesia as a child before serving in the United States Reserve Forces for 23 years.

She is now a member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and recently led a Congressional delegation visit to Taiwan, where she announced an American donation of vaccine doses.

On Friday, Duckworth spoke with the Indonesian chargé d’affaires in Washington, D.C., Iwan Freddy Hari Susanto, who is the highest-ranking Indonesian Embassy official in the United States, to underscore the United States' commitment to the Indonesian people as they seek to overcome a tragic surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to the press release.

During their conversation last week, Duckworth and Susanto also discussed the US government’s continued efforts to increase assistance for Indonesia’s broader COVID-19 response efforts, which has included more than US$14.5 million in direct COVID-19 relief, including US$3.5 million to help vaccinate Indonesians quickly and safely.

Meanwhile, USAID is providing health education to the public, training thousands of health workers, and funding a national COVID-19 information website that reaches more than 36 million people.

The US government has also donated COVID-19 testing equipment, one thousand ventilators, and nearly two thousand hand-washing stations to Indonesia.   (Antaranews)