If up to 70 percent of the Indonesian population can have access to the vaccine, we can obtain the remaining 30 percent of the total vaccine requirements in 2022 or also in 2021Jakarta (ANTARA) - State Enterprises Minister and Committee for COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery (KPCPEN) Executive Chief Erick Thohir is tapping possibilities for cooperating with vaccine producers apart from Sinovac to make the vaccine available for Indonesians.
"Since the onset, we have explored (the possibility of cooperation) with CEPI WHO, and Alhamdulillah (thank God), yesterday, Health Minister Terawan (Agus Putranto met) with UNICEF. Of course, we also look into the possibility of cooperation with other parties, such as AstraZeneca, CanSino, and Pfizer," Thohir noted in a scientific oration at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.
The availability of 300 million doses of vaccine next year will not suffice for the entire Indonesian nation, he emphasized.
"Even after obtaining 300 million doses of the vaccine, we cannot guarantee vaccine access for the entire Indonesian nation," Thohir stated.
Each individual will have to be administered the vaccine twice, so the 300 million doses of the vaccine will only be adequate for 170 million out of the over 260-million population of Indonesians.
"If up to 70 percent of the Indonesian population can have access to the vaccine, we can obtain the remaining 30 percent of the total vaccine requirements in 2022 or also in 2021," he added.
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Translator: Aji Cakti/Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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