Our target is that for January, 5.8 million (doses of) the vaccine must reach the regionsJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo has set a target to dispatch 29.55 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in regions until March 2021 for vaccination against the pandemic.
"Our target is that for January, 5.8 million (doses of) the vaccine must reach the regions. In February, 10.45 million (doses of the) vaccine must be distributed again to the regions and thereafter 13.3 million (doses of) vaccine must also be distributed in March," the president noted at the State Palace here on Wednesday.
"I see that the distribution has begun on Sunday (Jan 3), Monday (Jan 4) yesterday, on Tuesday (Jan 5), it has entered the regions. That is just the first stage," the head of state remarked at a limited cabinet meeting on handling the COVID-19 pandemic and plans for vaccination.
At a closed-door meeting attended by ministers and governors through video teleconferencing, the head of state remarked that vaccinations would commence next week.
The president is scheduled to undergo COVID-19 vaccination on January 13, 2021. He is optimistic that the regions would immediately conduct vaccinations after receiving COVID-19 vaccine supplies.
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As many as three million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by China's Sinovac Biotech arrived in Indonesia. Of the total, 1.2 million doses arrived on December 6, 2020, and 1.8 million doses arrived on December 31, 2020.
The head of state emphasized that the government's strategy to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic remains the same, comprising health treatment, social protection, and economic recovery.
"The key to economic recovery is how we can work hard in order to stop and control COVID-19," he affirmed.
Widodo further highlighted that in the past few days, Bangkok had been under lockdown, Tokyo was in a state of emergency, and London and other British territories were also placed under lockdown as cases of COVID-19 transmission had increased.
The head of state urged ministers and governors to work hard to ensure thorough implementation of the protocols: 3T -- tracing, testing, and treatment -- and 3M -- wearing masks, washing hands, and maintaining distance.
"Hence, I urge governors to again step up discipline in implementing health protocols because a survey has shown low discipline in following health protocols," he stated.
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Translator: Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
