VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia received another donation from the Netherlands in the form of 680,400 Moderna vaccine doses  that arrived on Wednesday.

"The Indonesian government expresses its highest appreciation and gratitude to friendly countries that have helped in offering vaccine assistance. This time, the assistance came from the Dutch government in the form of 680,400 doses of Moderna vaccine," Director General of Information and Public Communication Usman Kansong of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics stated in a press release here on Wednesday.

Last Saturday, Indonesia had received 819,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the Dutch government.

Kansong noted that with the arrival of the 117th batch of vaccines, the number of vaccine doses having arrived in the country so far, has reached 331,058,750 in total.

"The smooth arrivals of the vaccine have helped to further optimize efforts to accelerate and expand the vaccination program," he remarked.

Kansong noted that apart from increasing vaccination coverage in regions and ensuring the availability of vaccines, the government also continues to educate people, especially regarding misleading information related to COVID-19 vaccination, in a bid to accelerate the national vaccination program.

He emphasized that all vaccines administered under the national vaccination program are safe, beneficial, and have been approved by the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM).

Kansong noted that the vaccination target had yet to be achieved in several regions. To this end, the central government had pushed its regional counterparts to expedite and expand vaccinations for residents.

In a bid to boost immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government had launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021. President Joko Widodo was the first recipient of the program.

According to the Health Ministry's data, as of November 10, 2021, nearly 127,805,106 citizens had received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 81,275,819 had been fully vaccinated against the virus. (Antaranews)