Health Ministry Asked to Administer 1 Million Covid-19 Vaccines per Day

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan asked Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin to push for the mass vaccination by administering 1 million Covid-19 vaccines per day starting July following a surge in infections.

“I see the rising number [of positive cases]. Yesterday, there were almost 8,000 new infections. But the government continues to vaccinate [people]. There were nearly 600,000 (vaccinations) yesterday. Today with Pak Budi, we talk of administering 750,000 vaccines per day if possible and 1 million vaccines per day starting next month,” he said in a webinar on sea toll in Jakarta, Thursday, June 10.

He asked the public and government officials to work together to deal with the pandemic. As of Wednesday, 7,725 new cases were detected across 34 provinces.

Luhut, who just returned from his working visit to Guiyang, China, also called on all to follow China for its discipline in handling Covid-19. “China with a population of 1.4 billion is super disciplined so that they are able to contain Covid-19. We must follow them,” he said.

During his 4-day working visit in China, Luhut recalled that the government officials were highly disciplined in complying with the Covid-19 health protocols. He argued that this was carried out for the national interest. Thus, if Indonesia can put its national interest above all else, the results will also be great.

Read: Govt Guarantees Covid-19 Vaccines for '18 Years Old' and Above' Group

ANTARA