"Today's arrival added Indonesia's (vaccine) supply in both finished form and raw materials to a total of 312,335,760 doses," the Health Ministry's COVID-19 Vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi said in a written statement received here the same day.
The batches were Pfizer's 105th shipment (1,263,600 doses), AstraZeneca's 106th batch (1,336,200 doses), and Sinovac's 107th batch (4 million doses), she informed.
All of these vaccines were delivered in the form of finished vaccines and obtained through direct purchase schemes, she added.
According to Tarmizi, the arrival of additional vaccine stocks in Indonesia is expected to accelerate vaccinations and help the nation anticipate another wave of COVID-19 infections.
The Pfizer shipment was immediately dispatched to various regions for bolstering vaccine programs in areas with low vaccination coverage, she said.
The Pfizer vaccines that arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport are meant to be delivered to four health offices: Banten, Bengkulu, West Nusa Tenggara, and Lampung, she added.
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While the vaccine doses that landed at Ahmad Yani Airport, Semarang, would be distributed to Central Java Province Health Offices, Tarmizi said.
Vaccines arriving at Juanda Airport in Surabaya would be delivered to East Java Province Health Offices, she informed.
"The supply of COVID-19 vaccines has continued to arrive as the government has increased the vaccination targets of regions. Vaccines are ready and available, so there is no reason to delay vaccinations," she affirmed.
Tarmizi expressed the hope that vaccinations would help prevent a third wave, saying vaccinations are one of the main protections for Indonesians against COVID-19.
By receiving vaccines, people can get more protection and reduce the risk of severe illness and other ill-effects if exposed to COVID-19, she added.
"We hope that herd immunity will be formed soon as the government is targeting 208 million people to be vaccinated," she said.
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Translator: Andi F, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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