This Month, 4.6 Million AstraZeneca Vaccines Land In Indonesia

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo has confirmed that 4.6 million COVID-19 vaccines from the AstraZeneca brand will arrive in Indonesia this month. This vaccine is ready to use in finished form.

"God willing, in March, there will be another 4.6 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca," Jokowi said in the Presidential Secretariat Youtube broadcast, Thursday, March 4.

Jokowi said that currently all countries are grabbing vaccine stocks from existing vaccine producers. Thanks to the early lobbying, Indonesia was able to secure hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine for the public.

"Alhamdulillah, because at the beginning we have made approaches both from the government to the government, G to G and directly to several vaccine producers," said Jokowi.

Previously, the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) planned to issue an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the AstraZeneca brand of COVID-19 vaccine.

This is related to the news that the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an emergency use listing of the vaccine made by the British pharmaceutical company.

"We have also received information that there is indeed an emergency use listing from WHO for the AstraZeneca vaccine which will be distributed through multilateral cooperation. BPOM's task is to issue the UAE," said Head of BPOM Penny Lukito.

Penny explained, although WHO has included AstraZeneca in the list of approval for emergency use, each country will follow up by issuing the EUA. In this case the BPOM.

Currently, the BPOM as the drug regulatory authority is still waiting for a comprehensive, professional dossier or collection of documentation on pharmaceutical raw materials produced by AstraZeneca.