As I have stated, I will be the first man to receive the vaccination in Indonesia.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo has reiterated his willingness to be the first Indonesian to receive the COVID-19 vaccination once the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) issues the emergency use authorization.

"As I have stated, I will be the first man to receive the vaccination in Indonesia," the president stated while handing capital assistance worth Rp2.4 million to each trader at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java on Friday.

The head of state made the remarks to convince the public, including traders, of the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"To show that getting vaccinated is no big deal. This means after being vaccinated, we will return to normal," he remarked.

To create herd community, nearly 70 percent, or 182 million of the Indonesian population, should be vaccinated, he affirmed.

Thus, it takes time to conduct vaccination nationwide, he pointed out.

The BPOM is awaiting the clinical test result for the COVID-19 vaccine and data from China's Sinovac Biotech before issuing vaccine authorization, COVID-19 Handling and National Economic Recovery Working Committee Chairperson Airlangga Hartarto remarked.

"We are optimistic of the BPOM soon issuing the emergency use authorization, and now, it still awaits data from Sinovac and the result of a clinical trial conducted in Bandung (West Java) and Brazil scheduled for completion on December 15," Hartarto, concurrently the coordinating minister for economic affairs, noted on the sidelines of the Bisnis Indonesia Award 2020 here on Monday (Dec 14).

Hartarto remarked that the availability of 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine was expected to emerge as a game changer to cut the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and encourage economic recovery.

The COVID-19 recovery rate in Indonesia has reached 82.21 percent as of now, higher than the global average, indicating that pandemic handling in the country has run on the right path.

In 2021, Indonesia will receive 1.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine ready for administering, while in December 2020, another 15 million doses of the vaccine will arrive in the form of raw materials to be further processed by state-run vaccine manufacturer Bio Farma for production.
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