VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian government will reallocate the 2021 ministerial and institutional budget for the procurement of free COVID-19 vaccine for the public.

"I also instruct the finance minister to prioritize budget reallocation for the procurement of free vaccination," President Joko Widodo stated at the Merdeka Palace here on Wednesday.

"There is no reason for the public to not get vaccinated," he emphasized.

The head of state noted that the government had decided to provide free COVID-19 vaccine to the public after receiving several inputs from the community.

"After re-calculating the state’s financial standing, I can confirm that the COVID-19 vaccine would be offered free of charge to the public," he stated.

The head of state has instructed ministries and state institutions as well as local governments to accord priority to the vaccination program in the 2021 budget.

The government received 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac on Sunday (Dec 6) and will receive another 1.8 million doses in early January of 2021.

According to the health minister's decree, dated December 3, 2020, the government will use six types of COVID-19 vaccine including those produced by PT Bio Farma, AstraZeneca, China National Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (Sinopharm), Moderna, Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, and Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

Vaccination will be conducted after the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) issues an emergency-use authorization.

The BPOM awaits the clinical test result for the COVID-19 vaccine and data from China's Sinovac Biotech before issuing vaccine authorization, COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Working Committee Chairperson Airlangga Hartarto stated.

Hartarto, concurrently the coordinating minister for economic affairs, emphasized the need for the country to prepare 320 million vaccine doses to inoculate some 160 million people. (antaranews)