As many as 4,397,740 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the form of finished products have arrived in Indonesia as part of the 129th shipment, Communication and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate informed on Wednesday.

“With this (vaccine) arrival, the total number of vaccines that have arrived both in the form of bulk and finished products is around 358 million,” he said in a statement released here.

He assured that the government is continuing to increase vaccine stocks to fulfill the needs of Indonesians in a bid to bolster immunity against COVID-19.

“This effort is proof of the government’s seriousness in fighting the pandemic,” he remarked.

Based on Health Ministry data, as of November 23, 2021, around 135 million Indonesians have received the first vaccine dose, while 90 million have been fully vaccinated against the virus, he said.

Among the adolescent group, 23 million teenagers have received the first dose, or 86 percent of the targeted recipients, he noted. Meanwhile, as many as 15 million teens have received the full dose, he said.

In addition, first dose vaccines have been administered to 11 million older adults, while 6.9 million of them have been fully immunized, he informed.

In 2022, older adults, who are in the vulnerable group, are planned to be included in the first group of booster vaccine recipients, followed by participants who receive BPJS Health contribution assistance (PBI), he said.

For this reason, community participation is needed to help older adults get COVID-19 vaccines without delay, he added.

Regarding the preparations for administering boosters or third vaccine doses in 2022, the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has issued emergency-use permits for 11 COVID-19 vaccines, he said.

“The eleven COVID-19 vaccines are Sinovac, PT Bio Farma’s COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer, Sputnik V, Zifivax, Janssen, Convidecia, and Covovax,” the minister expounded.

Source: Antara News