"The president will be vaccinated on Wednesday, January 13, and the procedure for the process will be discussed this Friday (Jan 8)," Head of the Presidential Secretariat Heru Budi Hartono stated in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Indonesia is known to have received three million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturer Sinovac that arrived in two batches: 1.2 million doses on December 6, 2020, and 1.8 million doses on December 31, 2020.
Hartono confirmed that President Jokowi will be vaccinated along with other parties.
"Hence, whoever may have representatives, and the process (will be discussed), the steps are not arbitrary," Hartono remarked.
However, head of the Presidential Secretariat was unable to confirm details on the people to be vaccinated along with President Jokowi.
"On Friday, we discussed about the representatives from the community and the military," Hartono stated.
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The process of President Jokowi receiving the COVID-19 vaccination will be broadcast live.
"This is so that the people can see it immediately, and the process offers a sense of enthusiasm. The vaccination can be continued in the regions as well, at least in provinces and big cities," Hartono stated.
Hartono further emphasized that the head of state will receive the Sinovac vaccine.
The phase III clinical trials of the Sinovac vaccine are yet underway in Bandung before the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) can issue an emergency use authorization.
According to the BPOM head, results of the phase III clinical trials of the Sinovac vaccine will come out in the first week of January 2021. The BPOM will also obtain data on clinical trials of the vaccine conducted in Brazil and Turkey.
The government had earlier shed light on five sources of procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia: as many as 125 million vaccines from the Chinese company Sinovac; 100 million doses from the US and Canadian company Novavax; 100 million doses from the British company AstraZeneca; 100 million doses from the German and American company Pfizer; and 16-100 million doses for free from the Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI) as a form of multilateral cooperation. Related news: Health Ministry to send 13,000 Sinovac vaccines to Riau Islands
Translator: Desca L, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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