VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Feb. 1 - The Health Ministry has projected the arrival of some 23.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca in Indonesia in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 under the COVAX Facility scheme. The scheme is co-led by the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and World Health Organization (WHO).

GAVI in its letter, dated January 29, 2021, confirmed that the free vaccine allocation to Indonesia for the initial phase would be between 13.7 million and 23.1 million doses made by AstraZeneca, Siti Nadia Tarmidzi, a spokesperson of the ministry's COVID-19 vaccines, noted in a statement here on Sunday.

The vaccines will be dispatched in two stages, comprising 25-35 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and 65-75 percent in the second quarter of the initial phase of allocation.

The AstraZeneca vaccine can be administered to people aged 60 years and above.

"This is a success of our diplomacy. Through COVAX, we get access to free vaccines and in quick time. It will certainly complement the types of vaccines that currently exist. The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the vaccines that can be administered to people aged 60 years and above. As we know, they are a group of people having the highest mortality rate," she stated.

The Indonesian government had earlier signed the COVAX Facility vaccine form to complete the confirmation of participation in the procurement of the free COVID-19 vaccines.

Indonesia has an opportunity to obtain a maximum of 108 million doses of vaccines from the international institution. The exact number of vaccine doses allocated for Indonesia depends on the Indonesian diplomacy.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has coordinated with Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin to follow up on several areas that Indonesia must prioritize in its preparations for the vaccine delivery.

Vaccines from COVAX will unquestionably facilitate the government in fulfilling the requirements of the COVID-19 vaccination program since the procurement of COVAX vaccines is free.

Indonesia has received commitments and options to get 663 million doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca from the UK, Sinovac from China, Novavax from the United States and Canada, and Pfizer from the United States. (Antaranews)