COVID-19 – Indonesia approves Moderna vaccine as COVID-19 cases surge

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The Indonesian National Agency of Drug and Food Control told a virtual press conference on Friday (July 7) that an emergency use authorization (EUA) for vaccine made in the U.S. Moderna was issued on Thursday (July 1).

The U.S. government is committed to donating three million doses of Moderna vaccine to the Southeast Asian country, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at a virtual press conference on Thursday evening.

However, she did not elaborate further about dates on the arrival of the vaccine in Indonesia.

With Moderna vaccine included, the country now has four vaccine contributors, namely China’s Sinovac which is the biggest supplier, AstraZeneca under the COVAX Facility, and China’s pharmaceutical company Sinopharm.

On Friday (July 2), the number of daily COVID-19 cases in Indonesia was recorded at 25,830, or the highest since the first case was detected in March 2020, bringing the total cases to 2,228,938.

Meanwhile, 539 died from coronavirus infections, bringing the total death toll to 59,534 people.

Reporting by Indonesia Window