Indonesia Receives Donation Of 3.5 Million Doses Of AstraZeneca From COVAX

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JAKARTA - The Indonesian government received a donation of 3.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the COVAX facility which arrived in two batches of arrivals on January 3-4, 2022.

"Efforts to obtain vaccines through bilateral channels have been taken by the Indonesian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since the beginning of the pandemic," said Health Ministry Vaccination Spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, January 4.

Nadia said the total donations received amounted to 3,566,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine which arrived in two arrivals, namely the 188th stage on Monday, January 3. and the 189th stage as of today.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, said Nadia, Indonesia has been actively establishing international and multilateral cooperation, including through the WHO Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator COVAX Facility.

COVAX or COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access is a global initiative aimed at equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for all nations in the world.

For these efforts, said Nadia, Indonesia has received a commitment to help from COVAX to fulfill some of the vaccine needs for the Indonesian population.

He said Indonesia continues to actively campaign for equal access to vaccines for all countries in the world through COVAX.

"Indonesia plays an active role in efforts to equalize access to vaccines for countries in the world," he said.

Nadia said cooperation between countries in the world is very important in efforts to deal with COVID-19 which has claimed many lives. According to him, vaccination is one of the keys to protecting yourself and the nation from the threat of COVID-19.

Population immunity in Indonesia, continued Nadia, could increase the nation's ability to quickly get out of a pandemic that has lasted almost two years.

"The vaccination program has been going on for almost a year and we are on the right track by continuing to secure vaccine stocks for the needs of the Indonesian population," he said.

According to Nadia, all incoming vaccines will be immediately distributed to areas that need vaccine stocks for the implementation of the vaccination program.

To date, Indonesia has exceeded the WHO target for vaccination achievements. Even so, there are some areas whose achievements still need to be optimized.

The central government encourages regions where vaccination achievement is still low or has not yet reached the target to make extra efforts to increase it, including 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.

Entering January 2022, said Nadia, Indonesia will continue to increase vaccination efforts for the target population, including boosters, which give priority to health workers and the elderly. "Vaccination for children 6-11 years old, which has started in mid-December 2021, will also continue to be increased to protect children," he said.