Indonesian authorities may register the Russian vaccine Sputnik V against coronavirus as early as the end of April, Denis Tetyushin, spokesman for the Russian embassy in the country, told TASS on Wednesday.
"At present, Sputnik V is not registered in Indonesia. According to the head of the local regulator, the Indonesian Agency for Drug and Product Control, Penny Lukito, this process may be completed at the end of April this year upon receipt of a number of necessary documents from the RDIF," the spokesman informed the agency.
Tetyushin added that Indonesia is "interested in purchasing a Russian vaccine for use in a vaccination program for the private sector.
According to the World Health Organization, 1,571,824 cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in Indonesia, and 42,656 people have died. According to the published schedule, the daily increase in cases has been decreasing lately, with the last peak on February 15 (13,227 cases) and on April 13 (4,829 cases).
The first round of vaccinations began in Indonesia in mid-January, and the government expects the program to reach at least 181 million people, about two-thirds of the country's total population. Jakarta received about 3 million doses of the Chinese vaccine Sinovac at the end of last year, another 30 million doses are expected to be delivered during the first quarter and a total of almost 125 million doses. At the same time, the authorities intend to sign agreements with Pfizer-BioNTech, Novavax and AstraZeneca to purchase 100 million doses from each company. In addition, the Ministry of Health previously stated that private companies are considering buying Sputnik V vaccines, as well as Moderna and Sinopharm.
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Photo: sputnikvaccine.com
Based on materials from TASS