TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States Embassy in Jakarta on Wednesday announced an additional delivery of 7,052,760 doses of Pfizer vaccine to Indonesia, which comes from the partnership between COVAX, UNICEF, and the Indonesian government. The latest donation arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta in four shipments between Sunday and Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday noted that this shipment came to fruition after a meeting between the presidents of the two countries in Glasgow.

“After President Biden and President Jokowi’s very productive meeting a few weeks ago in Glasgow, President Biden asked me to come here to advance our work together on a number of critical issues,” said Blinken. “That includes stopping the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States has donated more than 25 million vaccines to Indonesia – the latest shipment arriving today.”

The U.S. government not only contributes to the shipment of vaccine doses, but also other vaccination-related aspects such as health workers’ training, vaccine distribution logistics, and measures to counter misinformation.

With a total commitment of $4 billion, the United States is also the largest donor to COVAX, which has helped Gavi facilitate the donation of more than 51.7 million total vaccine doses to Indonesia.

“We’re also working with Indonesia to boost a strong post-COVID economic recovery,” Blinken added.

According to Blinken, the U.S. is developing a comprehensive Indo-Pacific economic framework at Biden's directions. That includes trade, the digital economy, technology, resilient supply chains, decarbonization and clean energy, infrastructure investment, worker standards, and other areas of shared interest.

The United States is donating a total of 1.2 billion safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to low and lower-middle income countries around the globe. Worldwide, the country has already delivered 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with no strings attached and has pledged to deliver 200 million more doses by March 2022.

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The U.S. EMBASSY | RMN