Indonesia only has seven million doses of Sinovac's vaccine for April. Earlier, I thought we can obtain 7.5 million doses of AstraZenecaJakarta (ANTARA) - The Health Ministry will secure the supply of COVID-19 vaccines for the vaccination program in April following the AstraZeneca vaccine embargo by India.
"Indonesia only has seven million doses of Sinovac's vaccine for April. Earlier, I thought we can obtain 7.5 million doses of AstraZeneca," Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin noted during a discussion here on Monday.
Sadikin noted that AstraZeneca’s delivery to Indonesia for March and April stood suspended over a vaccine embargo imposed by India.
India is among the world's biggest vaccine producers: Novavax, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer.
Indonesia was earlier scheduled to receive 2.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 22 and 7.5 million more doses in April.
However, the plan was suspended due to the vaccine embargo in India after the country clocked an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases that forced the local authority to ban vaccine exports.
Sadikin highlighted that India's move had threatened vaccine supply in Indonesia.
As of March 26, more than 10 million people were vaccinated, with 500 thousand to 600 thousand recipients on an average per day.
"If we only have seven million doses of vaccine, then it will suffice for just 14 days," he pointed out.
However, Sadikin ensured the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia, as the country has four sources of vaccine supply from different producers.
"When a problem arises with one supplier, we still have three other producers. I cannot imagine if the world were to only rely on AstraZeneca, then we will surely face a big problem," he emphasized.
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