Bio Farma Set to Negotiate J&J Vaccine Procurement for Hajj Pilgrims

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned pharmacy Bio Farma Secretary Bambang Heriyanto said his side is ready to negotiate the procurement of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines with the U.S.

Bambang made the statement following the issue about the procurement of Johnson & Johnson vaccines after the Saudi Arabia government announced that only those who received vaccines of certain brands could undergo hajj pilgrimage.

“If the government issues an order, Bio Farma is ready to carry it out,” confirmed Bambang on Tuesday, June 1.

In addition to Johnson & Johnson, Saudi Arabia allows Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca. To date, Bio Farma has not yet listed Johnson & Johnson on its vaccine target list.

Bio Farma was still focused on accelerating the national vaccination program which was targeted to be completed in early 2022. The company has thus far procured Covid-19 vaccines from China’s Sinovac and AstraZeneca from the UK. In addition, it was procuring the Sinopharm vaccine for the private vaccination program.

Asked about the development of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Bambang was reluctant to provide an answer, underlining that the company would continue to support the government's program.

“Bio Farma is tasked to procure and distribute vaccines, both for government and private vaccine programs,” Bambang concluded.

Read: Bio Farma Distributes 77,000 Doses of Sinopharm Vaccine for Private Vaccination

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