JAKARTA (INDONESIA) – Indonesia hopes to receive 20.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Moderna Inc and China’s Sinopharm from the second quarter for use in a private vaccination scheme, said the head of a state pharmaceutical firm on Monday.
Indonesia had given authorisation of one of the world’s first private vaccination programmes last month to be organised alongside its national drive. This has enabled firms to purchase state-procured vaccines for their staff in Southeast Asia’s biggest country.
While the plan is expected to accelerate the pace of inoculation in the country, some health experts have warned it could became a hassle for inequity.
Honesti Basyir, CEO of Bio Farma, told a parliamentary hearing on Monday that it had ordered 15 million doses from China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm) and 5.2 million from Moderna.
He said that the Sinopharm vaccine could reach by the end of the second quarter, and the Moderna shot in the third quarter.
Indonesia aims to inoculate 181.5 million people within a year in its pursuit to reach herd immunity in a vaccination drive, which was kickstarted in January.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry had been pressuring the government to authorise the private inoculation drive.
Rosan P Roeslani, head of the business group, told the same hearing on Monday, that more than 11,500 companies have given thumbs up for the plan, which would see some 7.4 million people vaccinated.
The programme would permit employees to participating companies, plus their family members, to get access to free vaccinations at privately-run health centres with shots distributed by Bio Farma.
Its chief Penny K Lukito told the hearing that Indonesia’s food and drug agency is currently evaluating the Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use approval.