The 80th stage of the vaccine supply arrival has brought the total number of vaccines obtained by Indonesia to 274,400,590 doses, both in the form of finished product and bulk, according to a written statement from the Ministry of Communication and Informatics received here.
"I would like to express my gratitude and high appreciation to the Italian government. I also immediately sent a message to the Italian foreign affairs minister to directly express my appreciation for the cooperation," Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi remarked.
Italian Ambassador to Indonesia, Benedetto Latteri, highlighted Italy's intent to demonstrate its friendship and support to Indonesia in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic through the donation of vaccines.
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According to Latteri, the COVID-19 vaccine doses will help the Indonesian government maintain its efforts to expedite the vaccination campaign.
"Italy has multiplied its (vaccine) donation to low- and middle-income countries through the COVAX facility, from 15 to 45 million doses by the end of 2021, worth more than 385 million euros," he remarked.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marsudi added that Indonesia will receive 600 thousand vaccine doses of AstraZeneca from the French government later on Saturday (October 2).
Hence, Indonesia will have received a total of 3,163,540 COVID-19 vaccine doses from France.
Marsudi also ensured that Indonesia will continue its diplomacy efforts to meet its domestic vaccine requirements.
With the intense efforts being made so far, Indonesia has administered more than 140 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most significant vaccination numbers in Asia after China, India, and Japan.
In addition to striving for equal access to vaccines for all countries, Minister Marsudi affirmed that Indonesia was at the forefront in providing inputs for efforts to reorganize the world's health architecture to be more prepared in facing future challenges.
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Translator: Yuni Arisandy, Raka Adji
Editor: Suharto
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