Starting from April, we will activate one new production facility.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-run vaccine producer PT Bio Farma (Persero) will start operating its new production facility in April to boost the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines.

President Director of PT Bio Farma Honesti Basyir remarked that the new facility will increase monthly vaccine production, from 10-12 million doses to over 25 million doses.

"Starting from April, we will activate one new production facility. Thus, Bio Farma’s production capacity, currently standing at 10-12 million doses per month, can be increased to more than 25 million doses per month from April onwards, with two production facilities running," Basyir remarked during a hearing with Commission VI of the House of Representatives here on Monday.

The president director noted that the company had received a certificate of Good Manufacturing Practice (CPOB) from the Food and Drug Control Agency (BPOM), so the new facility could be operated soon.

"This will ensure vaccine supply for the government's program, as we already have the schedule of raw material delivery," he remarked.

Bio Farma has imported vaccine raw material since January, and the state-run firm has bagged the contract for 140 million doses of vaccine raw material from China's Sinovac Biotech.

Negotiation is underway with China's firm for securing an additional 120 million doses of vaccine raw material, he remarked.

"Hence, the total (vaccine) raw material to be delivered to Indonesia is 260 million doses from Sinovac. As of last week, we have received 53 million doses of raw material in five deliveries to Indonesia and have been processed by Bio Farma," he remarked.

Bio Farma would receive 30 million doses of vaccine in April. "Thirty million doses will arrive in April in the first week and in the third or fourth week," he remarked.

Until March 27, Bio Farma had recorded a total of 20.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine delivered to all regions nationwide.

Of the total doses, 14.3 million were distributed to districts and cities, while 10.4 million doses of them were administered to Indonesians.
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Translator: Ade Irma Junida, Sri Haryati
Editor: Suharto
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