VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is scheduled to receive his first COVID-19 vaccine shot in the morning of Wednesday (Jan 13).

"He (Jokowi) is scheduled to be administered the first shot of the vaccine tomorrow morning," Deputy of Protocol, Press, and Media of the Presidential Secretariat Bey Machmudin noted in a statement here on Tuesday.

The Presidential Secretariat and Health Ministry have readied the mechanism to inoculate the president that will then be aired through live streaming.

"Tomorrow, administration of the first vaccine shot will be aired via live streaming. People can watch the process live tomorrow," he stated.

On Monday (Jan 11), the National Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM) had issued the emergency use authorization (EUA) for CoronaVac, which is the COVID-19 vaccine produced by China's Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

"The CoronaVac has met the requirements to get the EUA," BPOM Chief Penny K. Lukito remarked.

Before arriving at a decision to issue the EUA, the agency had taken into account results of the vaccine’s clinical tests conducted in Indonesia, Brazil, and Turkey that demonstrated safety and efficacy in preventing the COVID-19 infection.

The vaccine also met the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of a minimum efficacy of 50 percent to obtain the license.

The clinical test in Bandung, West Java, conducted by state-run vaccine manufacturer Bio Farma and Sinovac found the vaccine to be 65.3-percent effective, while results of clinical tests in Turkey and Brazil showed the vaccine to respectively have an efficacy of 91 percent and 78 percent.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) also issued a halal fatwa for CoronaVac. (Antaranews)