Indonesia Receives Nearly 3 Million COVID-19 Vaccines From Germany And Sweden

JAKARTA - The Indonesian government received another nearly three million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, which came from donations from the Governments of Germany and Sweden.

The vaccine comes in its 202nd stage and is a vaccine produced by AstraZeneca which is a finished vaccine with a total of 2.968.000 doses of vaccine to be exact.

"We, on behalf of the government and people of Indonesia, express our deepest gratitude to the governments of Germany and Sweden for this vaccine donation," said Director General of Information and Public Communication (IKP) of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics Usman Kansong in a press statement quoted by Antara, Friday, January 28.

The COVID-19 vaccine is a vaccine that was donated by Germany and Sweden through the COVAX route.

Previously, the German government had also donated vaccines to Indonesia several times, including twice on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, in the form of 2.389.400 doses of Moderna vaccine and on Friday, 24 December 2021 in the form of 2.688.000 doses of Moderna vaccine.

Usman emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global problem that must be tackled together by all nations, including vaccination efforts.

Through COVAX or COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, which is a global initiative to provide equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for nations in the world, Indonesia takes part in the initiative.

Due to the effectiveness of the bilateral cooperation that Indonesia has established with outside parties since the beginning of the pandemic, Indonesia has received a lot of assistance, including the donation of free vaccines.

Assistance from the COVAX facility and from friendly countries such as Japan, the People's Republic of China, Australia, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, and other friendly countries.

"Cooperation between countries is one of the important elements to jointly overcome the pandemic that has lasted for about two years," he said.

Usman also said that efforts to improve and speed up COVID-19 vaccinations were continuously being carried out. This effort becomes even more significant as the transmission rate increases, especially the Omicron variant, which is getting more and more cases from day to day.

He also ensured that the incoming vaccine would be immediately distributed to areas that needed vaccine stock for the implementation of the vaccination program.

To date, he continued, Indonesia has exceeded the World Health Organization's target for the achievement of COVID-19 vaccine vaccination.

Even so, there are some areas whose achievements still need to be optimized so that the central government encourages areas where vaccination achievement is still low or has not yet reached the target, to make extra efforts to increase the target.

Efforts to encourage vaccination achievements include providing understanding and invitations to people who are still reluctant to be vaccinated.

"Especially for the elderly who are categorized as vulnerable and at high risk," he said.

Not to forget, Usman asked the public to immediately undergo the COVID-19 vaccination for those who have not received it. For those who have received a booster vaccine, Usman asked to be vaccinated immediately to provide more protection, both to yourself and to those around you.

"The increase in Omicron is also a reminder for all of us to continue and maintain the discipline of health protocols," concluded Usman.