As the world’s fourth most populous country, Indonesia is the most severely affected country in Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) said it would soon approve the emergency use of the sinovac vaccine. The ministry had previously said it hoped to grant emergency permission for the vaccine after studying interim data from clinical trials in Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey. Indonesia ordered 125.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Sinovac. Three million doses have been received so far and will be distributed nationwide starting January 3, the report said. Professor Wiku, spokesman for the Indonesian government’s COVID-19 response team, said Friday that the distribution of sinovac vaccines before the BPOM grants emergency use authorization is to improve time efficiency and ensure equal supply of vaccines, VOA reported.

The Government has set a target of vaccinating 246 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the Japan Times said. In addition to Sinovac, the government also plans to obtain vaccines from manufacturers such as Pfizer and Astrazeneca, and is considering developing domestic vaccines to supplement supplies.