Indonesia receives COVID-19 vaccine from China

JAKARTA

Indonesia on Sunday received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine from China, its president announced.

"I want to convey the good news that today the government has received 1.2 million doses from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd." Joko Widodo told an online news briefing.

The vaccine has gone through clinical trials in the archipelago country, he said, adding that the government is working to secure another 1.8 million doses by early January.

Health Ministry Agus Putranto on Dec. 3 shortlisted six COVID-19 vaccines for possible use in Indonesia: state-owned PT Bio Farma, Oxford's AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech, and China’s Sinopharm and Sinovac.

Total confirmed cases in the country of 270 million people have reached 575,796 with 17,740 deaths, the highest in Southeast Asia, according to the US' Johns Hopkins University.