Indonesia to Vaccinate 181.5 Million People by March 2022
Indonesia Plans to Vaccinate 181.5 Million People by March 2022
(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia is planning to start vaccinating its population against Covid-19 this month and is seeking to deliver shots to 181.5 million people by March 2022, according to the Ministry of Health.
The initial phase of inoculations will target 1.3 million health workers and 17.4 million public workers nationwide during the first quarter of 2021, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, the ministry’s vaccination spokeswoman, said at a briefing on Sunday.
The health ministry is seeking to begin vaccinations no later than the third week of January following official approval from the food and drug regulator, Tarmizi said. With about 13,000 community health centers and 9,000 hospitals across the country, the government will be able complete its targeted vaccination to achieve mass immunity, Tarmizi added.
Indonesia received its first batch of Covid-19 doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. last month and Kompas newspaper reported shots started being distributed on Sunday. PT Bio Farma, a state-owned vaccine producer and distributor, said regional health authorities are well prepared for the rollout of the vaccine, according to spokesman Bambang Heriyanto.
“Everything has been prepared, all cold chains are ready so that the quality of the vaccines distributed is all guaranteed,” he said.
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