TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said Monday the government had injected 52 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine into more than 20 percent of the country’s population.

“So, 37 million people have received their first jabs. And our injections have exceeded 1.5 million injections daily,” he said in a virtual press conference on the handover of oxygen supplies from Shopee, Monday, July 12, 2021.

Budi hoped the figures would accelerate till year-end.

Budi explained the government’s vaccination program aimed at inoculating 181.5 million people or equal to administering 363 million doses of vaccine—with each person receiving two doses. He said in the first semester Indonesia only received 70 million doses.

Budi added the rest 290 million-plus doses would arrive beginning July-December. He said Indonesia would receive 30 million doses in July, and thus one million doses must be administered to the public each day.

“It is not that we can only administer 1 million doses, but this is because only 30 million doses are available in July,” he said.

In August, he continued, the country would receive more than 40 million doses, and that the figures would continue to increase until October with 85 million doses.

“In October, if we have 85 million doses and they are divided by 30 days, it means we can inject 2.5 million doses per day,” Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

Read: Health Ministry Asserts People Not Obliged to Buy COVID-19 Vaccine

MUHAMMAD HENDARTYO