Indonesia received doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine from the Government of Japan, through the cooperation between the two countries. The AstraZeneca vaccine doses will be sent to Indonesia gradually or in batches.
“The first batch, which totaled 224,000 doses, was received today at Soekarno-Hatta Airport,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a press release on Tuesday.
The phases of delivering vaccines from Japan will be carried out over six flights from 19th to 22nd October, 2021.
The delivery is the 92nd delivery of vaccines to the country, meaning the total number of vaccines that have arrived is now 285,300,400, both in the form of raw materials and finished products.
According to Marsudi, the 1,990,910 doses were the result of a dose-sharing bilateral cooperation agreement, which was also the second set of support from the government of Japan for the government and community of Indonesia.
In July 2021, Indonesia received 2,161,240 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from Japan, which was then distributed throughout many regions in the country.
The dose-sharing cooperation between Indonesia and Japan was a concrete follow-up to the results of his conversations with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, she said.
Those conversations included a bilateral meeting during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 23rd September, 2021.
Marsudi stressed the cooperation reflects the friendship between the peoples of Indonesia and Japan, which is continuing to grow even during difficult times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Considering Japan’s role as one of Indonesia’s main economic partners, Indonesian-Japanese cooperation will help accelerate the economic recovery of each country post-pandemic,” she explained.
In addition to dose-sharing cooperation, Marsudi stated, “From the beginning, Japan has provided other support for Indonesia in overcoming the pandemic and improving health resilience.”
This support included medicines, such as Avigan, as well as mobile x-rays and other assistance through international organizations, she added.
Source: Antara News