Indonesia: Sadikin announces vaccination program dates; president to get first shot

Indonesia will begin its nationwide COVID-19 mass vaccination program on Jan. 13, the country's health minister said on Tuesday. The program will launch in Jakarta, with President Joko Widodo set to be given the first shot, Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a statement, and vaccinations in other regions are set to start in the next two days.

The government has previously said 1.3 million frontline workers are set to be among the first to receive the vaccines made by China's Sinovac Biotech.

Currently battling one of Asia's most stubborn coronavirus epidemics, Indonesia has secured more than 329 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, most notably from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, and AstraZeneca.