Jakarta, InfoPublik - National Police's Public Information Bureau head Brigadier General Dwi Hartono stated police and military personnel had escorted the COVID-19 vaccine transport from the Soekarno Hatta Internationl Airport in Tangerang to the Bio Farma's central office in Bandung.

In addition, he said, the escort will be continued from Bio Farma, Bandung to provinces, regencies, and cities across the country.

"The National Police deploys 83,566 personnel to succeed the national vaccination program. We hope this program will run smoothly and safely," he said in a virtual press conference on Tuesday, 5 January.

According to him, the security will be done until the process of vaccine administration completed. "We carry it out with our colleagues from Indonesian National Armed Forces," he told.

Previously, Indonesia had brought in 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine produced by Sinovac for the first batch. For the second batch, the government brought in 1.8 million doses. In total, there are currently 3 million doses of vaccine available in Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo targeted the vaccination program to be completed in less than 12 months in 2021. The target is shorter than other countries' programs which take 3.5 years.

The government has started to distribute the vaccine to all 34 provinces. For the first phase, 700,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed.

The government will bring again the vaccine for the program.

“Hopefully, next week, 15 million vaccines will arrive in the form of raw materials which will be processed further by Bio Farma. The vaccine will be delivered to all regions again,” said President Joko Widodo at the State Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday, 5 January.

In the first stage, President said, the vaccination will be given to the first priority group, i.e. health professionals, doctors and nurses in hospitals for example. “In the second stage, it will be administered to the personnel of armed forces and police, teachers, and community,” he said.

The president hopes that the vaccination can control the COVID-19 spread. Nevertheless, he reminded the public to remain disciplined in applying the health protocol until the vaccination process is completed.

(Photo illustration by InfoPublik: Indonesian National Police personnel, Writer: Jhon Rico, Editor: Isma)