Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced that once Covid-19 vaccines are readily available, they will be distributed to all Indonesian citizens for free.
(Image: ©The Bali Sun – I Wayan Yatika)
During a press conference on The Official President Secretary Youtube Channel on Wednesday (16/12), President Widodo announced that after measuring the nation’s financial capabilities, he has decided to distribute the vaccines for free. “I repeat, it will be totally free. People don’t have to pay, not even one rupiah” Widodo stated.
The President has commanded all cabinets and regional governments manage their 2021 budgets around funding the vaccination program. “I’ve instructed the Financial Minister, Sri Mulyani, to allocate the budget in 2021 to facilitate Covid-19 vaccinations” Widodo added.
(Image: ©The Bali Sun – I Wayan Yatika)
Meanwhile, Indonesia has received 1.2 million packages of Covid-19 vaccines from Sinovac and is expecting to receive more supply from China.
The President also said that he will be the first to be injected with the vaccine. “I’ll take the first shot of the vaccine, to show the people that this vaccine is safe” Widodo stated.
According to the Indonesian Ministry Regulation Number 9860/2020, the government has authorized six Covid-19 vaccines for use in Indonesia including Bio Farma, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech and Sinovac.
(Image: ©The Bali Sun – I Wayan Yatika)
However, the vaccination cannot start as the Sinovac vaccine is currently being tested by Bio Farma and Padjadjaran University. Once it passes the clinical test stage III, the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) will issue the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and the vaccine can be legally distributed in Indonesia.
(Image: ©The Bali Sun – I Wayan Yatika)
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