TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia has received more COVID-19 vaccine doses from Japan under dose-sharing cooperation scheme.

East Asia Director at Foreign Affairs Ministry Santo Darmosumarto said in a press release received here on Sunday that the current vaccine assistance deliveries were divided into four batches.

The first and second batches arrived on Saturday (January 15, 2022) afternoon and night with 448,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine each.

Both batches were the 194th and 195th vaccine arrivals in Indonesia.

The next batches will arrive on January 18 and 19, 2022, taking the total to 2,722,930 doses.

Japan had earlier sent 4.15 million doses of vaccine to Indonesia throughout 2021.

“With this arrival, the total of COVID-19 vaccine doses under dose-sharing cooperation collectively reached 6,875,080,” Darmosumarto informed.

Such a concrete cooperation mirrors the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially in assisting to expedite economic recovery in Indonesia, he remarked.

Japan is one of Indonesia’s important partners in trade, investment, infrastructure, and economic sectors, he added.

“I highly appreciate the Japanese government and citizens for this cooperation,” he said.

The vaccine diplomacy was aimed at securing the vaccine needs for Indonesian citizens, he stressed.

Apart from voicing equal access to vaccine for each country, Indonesia remains in the front line in strengthening the global health cooperation in order that the world can be more prepared for meeting challenges related to public health in the near future, he explained.

The vaccine supply is very important as the government has commenced the inoculation of booster doses for public, according to Darmosumarto.

The government also continues to increase the vaccination coverage for first and second doses across regions, particularly those with relatively-low vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, the people at large are urged to keep complying with the government's health protocols.

Read: Indonesia Encourages COVID-19 Handling in G20 Presidency

ANTARA