Indonesia Receives 240 Thousand AstraZeneca Vaccines From UK

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

JAKARTA - Indonesia again received the UK government's donation of 243,440 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Friday as a form of solidarity and global cooperation in handling the pandemic.

"I would like to thank the British government for its support for dose-sharing vaccines for handling COVID-19 in Indonesia," said Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, quoted by Antara, Friday, October 8.

According to the Foreign Minister, this delivery is the second from the British government, after Indonesia received 620 thousand doses of vaccine on August 2.

Indonesia affirms its stance that supports global cooperation in handling COVID-19, including through the dose sharing scheme.

The government is also actively involved in international cooperation to deal with COVID-19.

In addition to expressing his appreciation for the support from the UK, the Foreign Minister also conveyed the Indonesian government's good response to the UK's decision to remove Indonesia from the red list, which reflects the improving situation of COVID-19 in the country.

The decision is also a follow-up to the results of the meeting between the Indonesian Foreign Minister and the British Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the end of last September, said Retno.

The Foreign Minister added that the spirit of solidarity and cooperation of all countries is the key in global efforts to deal with this health crisis.

With the arrival of the 86th batch of vaccines, the total number of vaccines that have arrived in Indonesia, both in bulk and finished forms, has reached 278,527,220 doses.

“The arrival of the vaccine shows that the vaccine stock is safe. The government is pursuing a target that by the end of 2021, 70 percent of Indonesians have been vaccinated. As of October 8, 2021, 46.52 percent of the population targeted for vaccination had received the first dose of injection and 26.49 percent had been fully vaccinated," said the Ministry of Communication and Informatics.

Along with vaccination efforts that continue to be intensified, the government continues to encourage the public to be disciplined in implementing health protocols.