Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – A total of 1,408,000 doses of ready-to-use Sinopharm vaccine arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang district, Banten province on Tuesday.

"Today we received 1,408,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine," said Deputy Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Ministry Pahala Nugraha Mansury, in a virtual press statement welcoming the vaccine.

This arrival is the 22nd stage of the total COVID-19 vaccines received by Indonesia, and the third stage of the Sinopharm vaccine.

The deputy minister said that in the next three days another four million doses of Sinopharm vaccine will arrive in the country. This vaccine will be used for the private vaccination program called Gotong Royong (mutual cooperation).

"We hope that the Sinopharm vaccine imported by Kimia Farma, which is a subsidiary to Bio Farma (the national vaccine manufacturer), will be used for Gotong Royong vaccination program," he said.

According to Pahala, Indonesia has a cooperation to bring in 15 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine for the private vaccination program.

"Gotong Royong vaccination is a complementary program to complete the government's vaccination program to accelerate the achievement of herd immunity," he explained.

Sinopharm vaccine is made with an inactivated platform and has received an Emergency Use Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO) in May 2021.

Sinopharm vaccine has also received approval in 56 countries with an efficacy of 79 percent.

Reporting by Indonesia Window