The Sinovac Vaccine Expires In March, This Is The Explanation Of The Ministry Of Health

ILLUSTRATION/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Amid the government's efforts to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination program to achieve community immunity or herd immunity, there is a lot of discussions that the Sinovac vaccine will expire or expire on March 25.

Vaccination spokesperson from the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, explained that the vaccine that expired on that date was the Sinovac vaccine, which came in the first batch, totaling 1.2 million doses and 1.8 million doses.

"The vaccine has been used to be given to 1.45 million health workers and 50 thousand public service providers. We are currently using this vaccine," she said, in an official statement via video, as quoted on Sunday, March 14.

Nadia said vaccines that were about to expire were vaccines in the form of small bottles or vials containing one dose or for one injection.

"Meanwhile, the Sinovac vaccine that we are currently using for over 60 years of age and other public services is a large bottle or vial containing 10 doses or can be given to 10 vaccination targets," she continued.

Previously, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin previously said that vaccinations available in the country in Semester I 2021 were only 24 percent of the total national vaccine need.

Therefore, said Budi, vaccines will be given based on a priority scale by considering risks. People who get the first priority to get vaccinated are health workers because they face high risks every day.

"Every day in the fight against the disease every day we encounter viruses in high doses. We protect this first," said Budi.

The government, through the Ministry of Health, continues to strive to accelerate the implementation of the national vaccination program. As of Friday 12 March, 3,696,059 people had received their first injection of the COVID-19 vaccine. That number is only 2.03 percent of the vaccination target of 181,554,465 Indonesians.

Of these, 1,295,615 people have received two doses of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. The government's vaccination program was first implemented on January 13. At that time President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), a number of ministers, state officials, and community leaders opened this mass vaccination program.