TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A new batch of Sinovac covid-19 vaccine raw materials - enough for 16 million doses - has landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight on Thursday, March 25, 2021.

The arrival marks the sixth Sinovac vaccine shipment in Indonesia after receiving 10 million doses of raw materials on March 2, 2021. The current shipment and the March 2 shipment of raw materials will allow state-pharmaceutical firm Bio Farma to produce it into ready-to-use vaccine vials.

In total, Indonesia currently has 53.5 million doses of the Sinovac vaccines and more from British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.

According to the Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono, who was present during arrival of the shipment "the vaccines will be immediately transported by three trucks to Bio Farma for production. And for sure the vaccines will be evaluated by the BPOM [food and drugs monitoring agency] before it is used for the people of Indonesia."

The live stream from the Presidential Secretariat office Youtube channel showed the vaccines being transported by nine enviro-tainers.

Indonesia's Covid-19 vaccination program remains focused on the demographic categorized in priority groups. The first vaccination phase saw over 1.4 million receive their vaccine shots. Currently, the second phase of vaccination aiming at elderly groups and public servants is ongoing.

EGI ADYATAMA