VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia has received 500 thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the Australian government under a bilateral vaccine-sharing mechanism as part of the 51st batch of vaccine shipments.

"The first batch (of vaccines) from Australia arrived last September 2 (2021), with a total of 500 thousand doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi informed in a written statement here on Wednesday.

The second batch arrived one day before the 2+2 (Foreign Affairs Minister-Defense Minister) Meeting between the two countries, she added.

"The two countries continue to strive to strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including in challenging situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic," Minister Marsudi said.

The arrival of the vaccines is part of Australia's plan to provide 2.5 million doses of vaccine for the Indonesian people in 2021, she informed.

The Australian government has also committed to providing support for vaccine procurement to Indonesia to the tune of 77.1 million Australian dollars (Rp810 billion), which will be channeled through UNICEF.

"On behalf of the Indonesian government, I would like to thank the Australian government and the people of Australia for their cooperation in handling COVID-19. Thank you, Australia!" Marsudi said.

With the arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccines, Indonesia has received as many as 225.9 million doses of vaccines from various brands, both in bulk or ready-made form, she added.

The vaccines comprise 33 million doses of ready-made Sinovac vaccines, 153.9 million doses of Sinovac vaccines in bulk, 20 million doses of AstraZeneca, 8 million doses of Moderna, 2.75 million doses of Pfizer, and 8.25 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

To slow the spread of COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on 13 January, 2021, with President Joko Widodo becoming the first vaccine recipient in the country. (Antaranews)