Today, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi) together with his ministers held a closed meeting. The President will discuss the expired Covid-19 vaccine stock.
According to news conveyed during the meeting at the Presidential Palace, some vaccines purchased by the government and grants from several countries have entered or are approaching their expiration date.
“Some of the vaccination grants and some of the vaccinations we bought have expired and they are still stored in refrigerators throughout the province,” said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in a press statement after a limited meeting, Tuesday (31/5/2022).
According to Budi, Indonesia has 474 million doses of vaccine. Hundreds of these vaccines come from vaccines purchased and grants from other countries.
“Of the 474 million doses of vaccine, around 130 million are vaccine grants or donations. So the government does not spend money to obtain them,” said Budi.
However, the vaccine stock owned by the government will increase again shortly. Government records, that as many as 74 million doses of the vaccine will come gradually until the end of the year.
“Of the 74 million, there are around 15 million remaining contracts in early 2021 which will be sent after June until the end of the year. The remaining 50 million are grants, and there will be more vaccine grants in the future,” he said.
Budi emphasized that the rise of expired Covid-19 vaccines was not without reason. This is because the implementation of vaccination programs in recent times has tended to slow down. After all, most people have been vaccinated.
“As a result, it fills the existing warehouses. So we want to send new vaccines later, it will be hampered,” he said.
Government Will Destroy the Expired Vaccines
Previously, the Ministry of Health proposed to Jokowi that the Covid-19 vaccine should be destroyed in each region.
From the information obtained, Jokowi agreed to destroy the expired Covid-19 vaccine stock.
“The president’s direction is that the extermination is carried out following applicable regulations and accompanied by BPKP, the Attorney General, and other law enforcement officers so that it is made more transparent and the procedure is following applicable regulations,” he said.
He continued, “This is important so as not to hamper the next vaccination program because the warehouses are full.”
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