Ready-to-use vaccines from Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, arrived in Indonesia on the night of Sunday 6th December.
Based on a video broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube channel, 1.2 million doses of the vaccine from China were transported by a Garuda Boeing 777-300.
The plane landed at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, around 9:30pm Western Indonesia Time. In a separate broadcast, President Joko Widodo said that the arrival of the vaccine from Sinovac was good news for the Indonesian people.
“I want to convey good news. Today, the government has received 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. This vaccine is made by Sinovac which we have tested clinically in Bandung since August 2020,” said Jokowi.
The 1.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine that arrived on Sunday night are ready-to-inject doses. According to Jokowi, there will be 1.8 million more doses of these vaccines arriving in January 2021.
In addition, 45 million doses of bulk raw materials will also arrive for the manufacture of the COVID-19 vaccine. The 45 million doses will arrive in two waves; 15 million doses in the first batch and 30 million doses in the second batch.
“We are grateful. The vaccine is available, meaning that we can immediately prevent the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. But to start vaccination still requires steps from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM),” as quoted by Kompas.
Indonesia has been collaborating with Sinovac to conduct the third phase clinical trial in Bandung, West Java. The partnership involved a team from Padjadjaran University and PT Bio Farma.
Head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency, Penny Lukito, stated that the clinical trial that took place in Bandung was going well. Apart from Sinovac, Indonesia has also made commitments to procure vaccines from other biopharmaceutical companies, namely Sinopharm, in collaboration with G42 in the United Arab Emirates, CanSino, and AstraZeneca.
Also Read COVID-19 Vaccine Update in Indonesia
Video: Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube