1,389,600 AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccines Arrive In Indonesia, Ready For Use
JAKARTA - Indonesia received 1,389,600 doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine. This is acceptance of the third batch of vaccines in finished form from AstraZeneca. This vaccine was obtained from the multilateral COVAX Facility, which arrived at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Saturday morning, May 8.
"Today we should be grateful that Indonesia can again receive the third batch of vaccines from the multilateral route from the COVAX Facility", said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in a virtual press statement witnessed through the Presidential Secretariat Youtube, in Jakarta Saturday.
The Foreign Minister said that the number of AstraZeneca vaccines that arrived on Saturday was 1,389,600 doses of vaccine. Earlier on Thursday, May 6, 2021, 55,300 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had also arrived.
"Thus the number of vaccines for the third batch this week from the COVAX Facility is 1,444,900 doses of vaccine to become AstraZeneca", explained the Foreign Minister.
The Foreign Minister conveyed that the total AstraZeneca vaccine from the multilateral route that had arrived in Indonesia was 6,410,500 doses of the finished vaccine.
Meanwhile, as a whole, if we count all the COVID-19 vaccines that Indonesia has secured from the start to this day, there are 75,910,500 doses of vaccine.
The details are 68,500,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine, 6,410,500 doses of AstraZeneca from the COVAX Facility, and 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.
The Foreign Minister said that Indonesia fully understands that efforts to fulfill commitments to equal access to vaccines for all countries are not easy.
According to him, hard efforts continue to be made by the COVAX Facility, which is supported by the GAVI, WHO, CEPI institutions, and in partnership with UNICEF, for the fulfillment of equal vaccines for all countries.
"We appreciate these efforts. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Indonesia has consistently advocated equal access to vaccines for all. Indonesia also supports the elimination of patents for the COVID-19 vaccine to boost world production capacity for vaccines", explained the Foreign Minister.
On May 17, 2021, Foreign Minister Retno, together with the Ethiopian Health Minister, and the Canadian Minister for International Development will chair the COVAX AMC Engagement Group meeting. The meeting was held to discuss the current situation of efforts to meet the COVID-19 vaccine equally for all countries.