VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Bio Farma, the holding company for pharmaceutical State-Owned Enterprises, has distributed 233.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to all Indonesian provinces.

"In total, until November 4, 2021, we had distributed 233.4 million doses of vaccines to all provinces in Indonesia," Director of Bio Farma Honesti Basyir stated here on Tuesday.

Basyir remarked that several million more vaccine doses were directly distributed by the manufacturers in collaboration with the government. He cited the example of Pfizer wherein Pfizer global had entered an agreement with the Health Ministry in terms of the supply. Pfizer directly distributes the vaccines to provinces in Indonesia.

Such distribution, which was the result of an agreement between manufacturers and the government, is not included in the distribution handled by Bio Farma, thereby pegging the amount of vaccines distributed by it at 233.4 million doses.

This distribution encompasses all types of vaccines that already exist in Indonesia, which have obtained an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM). Those include vaccines that Bio Farma had obtained either via a direct supply agreement or the COVAX facility or from allied countries.

"The target is that by the end of the year, which will be our assignment, a total of around 326.8 million doses (will be distributed). We still have several vaccines that will be delivered in November and December 2021 to meet all needs," he remarked.

The vaccines that will be distributed until the end of the year as per the target are COVID-19 vaccines that are not gifted, which means the vaccines are part of a supply agreement between Bio Farma and vaccine developers. Bio Farma is striving to hand out a total of 326.8 million vaccine doses to the government in accordance with its tasks.

"Until October 2021, we have received more than 250 million doses, so that in November and December, another 111 million doses of vaccines will be obtained from various developers, such as the Bio Farma COVID-19 vaccine that Bio Farma produces itself, and there is also the Novavax vaccine or Covavax, which is the name of the product that will be coming soon. Moreover, there is AstraZeneca vaccine produced in China and also the finished vaccine that Bio Farma imports directly from Sinovac with the brand name Coronavac 2," Basyir revealed. (Antaranews)