Durian. Indonesia must have 352 million doses vaccines for covid-19 virus to fit the country initial needs of 320 million doses at this moment, Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto said.
“Vaccine will be prioritized given for frontliners medics and all members of the society who are working at medical facilities,” Terawan said in Jakarta on Sept.30.
Those who are in the life-risk category, workers aged 18-59 will be in the second to get the vaccines, he added.
However, storage capacity owned by state-owned companies only fit for stocking 123 million sdoses vaccine, according to Budi Gunadi Sadikin, deputy State-Owned Enterprises Minister.
Therefore, Pharmaceutical firm Bio Farma and Kimia Farma will purchase cold chain equipment inventory for additional storage capacity to reach 300 million doses, Sadikin explained.
Indonesia will purchase vaccine from China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm. A technical team from the Drug and Food Control Agency (BPOM) will visit China in the near future to the two companies’ laboratories and to check their clinical tests before discussing on shipment mechanism, Penny Kusumastuti Lukito, head of BPOM said.
Indonesia is preparing itself to produce vaccine for covid-19 virus. Besides China, Indonesia has been communicating with other parties such as United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom related with vaccine procurement.
Separately on Oct.1 Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan ordered medics, personnel of military, police and municipal police to soon get swab test for covid-19.
