"Today, as many as 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived in the country that the Dutch government donated through COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access)," the minister noted in a press release accessed here Thursday.
Earlier, the Dutch government had sent 819,600 Moderna vaccine doses in October and 680,400 doses in November to Indonesia.
Apart from Moderna vaccines, the Dutch government had also donated Janssen and AstraZeneca vaccine doses earlier.
"The Indonesian government would like to thank the Dutch government for this vaccine donation," Kansong remarked.
According to Kansong, this grant is a manifestation of the sound and close relations between Indonesia and the Netherlands as well as proof of both nations' commitment to working hand-in-hand in handling COVID-19 in the world.
The minister affirmed that the Indonesian government had continued to rev up the national vaccination program and even to remote villages.
"The central government encourages regions to continue to accelerate and expand vaccination for their residents," he remarked.
Apart from securing vaccine stocks, Kansong assessed that education regarding vaccinations was crucial in the efforts to accelerate vaccinations.
The minister noted that hoaxes had triggered fears and concerns among members of the community that had slackened vaccinations.
"Once again, the government emphasized that all the COVID-19 vaccines used are safe and beneficial and had received permission from the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM)," he stressed.
Related news: Indonesia receives 1.5 million Moderna vaccines from US
As part of the efforts to build community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021.
According to data provided by the Health Ministry, as of December 23, 2021, nearly 154,791,737 citizens had received their first COVID-19 shot, while 109,535,337 had been fully vaccinated against the virus.
Related news: Decline in vaccinations due to improved conditions: Health Ministry
Translator: Fathur Rochman, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
