VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Health Ministry has started distributing Moderna COVID-19 vaccines that will be administered to the general public in all provinces across Indonesia.



"The Moderna vaccine, which is allocated in the second week of August 2021, is to meet the need of administering two doses (to each recipient)," Health Ministry's spokesperson for COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, informed here on Thursday.



She said two doses of the Moderna vaccine would be given to recipients at an interval of four weeks.



So far, Indonesia has received over 8 million doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the US Government through the COVAX Facility, she noted. As many as 3 million doses of the total Moderna vaccines received have been allocated for 1.4 million health workers as boosters, she disclosed.



According to Tarmizi, the remaining 5 million doses are in the process of being distributed to all regions to be allocated to the general public.



The Moderna vaccine uses a nucleoside-modified mRNA for boosting immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and preventing COVID-19 transmission, she said.



The spokesperson stated that the Ministry of Health has directed that Moderna vaccines be stored in a refrigerator at a temperature of minus 25 degrees Celsius to minus 15 degrees Celsius in health office facilities.



Meanwhile, in healthcare facilities, the vaccines can be stored in a vaccine refrigerator at a temperature of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, she added.



According to Tarmizi, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine will be given to participants who have so far not received any COVID-19 vaccination.



Vaccines and logistics will be distributed to the health office in each province, and they can then coordinate the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to cities and districts, she added. (Antaranews)