Indonesian President Joko Widodo was the first to be vaccinated against the coronavirus on Wednesday, marking the beginning of mass vaccination in the country. The procedure was broadcast live on national TV channels.
The head of the presidential administration, Heru Budi Hartono, noted that "today only the head of state received the vaccine, and the ministers will be vaccinated on other days; a special schedule has been set up for them".
The first vaccine approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration was developed by China's Sinovac Corporation. According to the agency, interim test results showed an efficacy rate of 65.3%. Indonesia was the first country after China to approve the vaccine.
The republic's health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, said on Tuesday that about 1.5 million health-care workers would be vaccinated over the next two months. All told, the government estimates that about 181 million Indonesians, with a population of nearly 270 million, will be vaccinated.
Jakarta received about 3 million doses of Sinovac at the end of last year, and another 30 million doses are expected to be delivered during the first quarter, for a total of nearly 125 million doses. At the same time, the authorities intend to sign agreements with Pfizer, Novavax and AstraZeneca to purchase 100 million doses from each company.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS