TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced that the Covid-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca will soon arrive in Indonesia this March 2021, totaling 4.6 million doses of ready-to-use vaccines.

“Inshallah, there will be another 4.6 million doses of ready-to-use vaccine from AstraZeneca this March. This means, [the national] vaccination can be accelerated,” said the President on Thursday evening, March 4, 2021.

Indonesia had already secured 38 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. A total of 3 million doses were ready-to-use vaccines, and 35 million in the form of bulk raw materials that were processed by state pharmacy PT Bio Farma.

Jokowi hoped that the arrival of this vaccine will speed up the national target to inoculate 60-70 percent of the population or as many as 181.5 million people. Thus, the country requires 364 million doses to achieve the target.

Earlier reported, the upcoming arrival of the AstraZeneca vaccine was carried out through multilateral cooperation with Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI)-Covax Facility in the first quarter of this year.

The Health Ministry’s spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi stated on Sunday, January 31, that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe for use on elderlies aged over 60 years.

Read: BPOM to Approve AstraZeneca's Covid-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use This Week

DEWI NURITA | SYAILENDRA PERSADA