Assistance in the form of 134,560 AstraZeneca vaccine doses from the government of the United Kingdom arrived in Indonesia via a bilateral channel.

“As many as 134,560 AstraZeneca vaccine doses via a bilateral channel have arrived,” Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi noted in a written statement of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics received here, Wednesday.

The arrival of vaccines, received on Tuesday, was the third consignment, as two batches of vaccines from the UK government had arrived earlier, she remarked.

With the third arrival, the UK government had donated as many as one million AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia in total.

The vaccine assistance aligns with the UK government’s commitment to supporting Indonesia in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Marsudi noted.

“For that reason, on behalf of the Indonesian people, I sincerely thank the United Kingdom government for this support,” she stated.

The minister noted that in these difficult times owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indonesian government lauds the solidarity and support offered by the UK, which is Indonesia’s strategic partner.

“I am optimistic that through sound cooperation with various partners, we can survive this pandemic together,” she remarked.

Meanwhile, Director General of Information and Public Communication at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Usman Kansong, stated that the smooth arrivals of vaccine doses had encouraged the acceleration and expansion of the government’s vaccination program.

He stated that the total vaccine doses that arrived in the country in bulk and finished form had reached 321,529,220.

According to the Health Ministry’s data, as of November 3, 2021, nearly 121,975,753 citizens had received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose, while 75,829,190 had been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Source: Antara News