VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Mar. 18 - The Health Ministry expressed optimism that 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, procured under the Covax multilateral scheme and the World Health Organization (WHO), would be administered before its expiry date in May 2021.

"We are optimistic, as currently, 250 thousand to 350 thousand doses of the vaccine are administered daily. It means we can administer 1.1 million doses of the vaccine within six days," the ministry's spokesperson on COVID-19 vaccination, Siti Nadia Tarmidzi, noted in a statement here on Thursday.

As many as 1,113,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine weighing 4.1 tons had arrived in Indonesia on March 8, 2021.

It was the first batch of free vaccine delivery out of a total of 11,704,800 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine allotted for Indonesia under the WHO's Covax multilateral scheme.

Covax is co-led by the vaccine alliance Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. It targets to accelerate the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

The government has decided to suspend distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports on its side-effect.

"The suspension is part of the government's prudential approach, and it is also based on the guidance of the National Food and Drug Control (BPOM)," she remarked.

During the delay, the BPOM will conduct the quality control process to ensure that all vaccines are in good condition before being administered to the public. (Reuters)