Arrival of the vaccines has brought the total figure received by Indonesia to 65.5 million doses in raw material from Sinovac and 8.448 million doses of ready-to-use vaccine from Sinovac, Sinopharm, and COVAX Facility AstraZeneca.
"Arrival of the vaccines today is a form of the government's consistency in gradually securing the supply of domestic vaccines," Plate noted during a virtual press conference at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten on Friday.
Plate affirmed that the vaccine procurement is an effort aimed at building herd immunity. At the same time, the government has also intensified testing, tracing, and treatment (3T) and implemented the health protocols.
The minister drew attention to the second wave of COVID-19 in several countries and expressed hope that it would not occur in Indonesia.
"We have to work jointly, so it (the second wave of COVID-19) will not occur in Indonesia. Although we are already vaccinated, we should not become careless. We still have to implement health protocols for the safety of all Indonesians," he remarked.
The government has also imposed a ban on the Eid al-Fitr exodus (mudik) on May 6-17 to stem the spread of COVID-19. It will also tighten rules for domestic travel during the period from April 22 to May 5 and May 18 to 24, 2021.
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Lia W Santosa, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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