Health workers receive coronavirus vaccine in Bali

Indonesia started vaccinating health workers and public servants for COVID-19 on Thursday, a day after President Joko Widodo received the first shot of China’s Sinovac vaccine.

Healthworkers were seen receiving the vaccine on Indonesia's tourist island of Bali.

The Health Ministry is planning to vaccinate more than 1.3 million health workers and 17.4 million public officials in the first stage of the vaccination programme.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population of about 270 million people - or just over 180 million people.

Indonesia’s Food and Drug Authority green-lighted emergency use authorization of the Sinovac vaccine after the country's highest Islamic body last week said the shot is fit for consumption by Muslims.

The Health Ministry expects it will take 15 months for Indonesia to complete the vaccination program, through March 2022.

The rollout comes as Indonesia registered the daily record in COVID-19 infections and fatalities on Wednesday, with 11,278 cases and 306 deaths in the last 24 hours.

The country has recorded more than 858,000 infections and over 24,900 deaths in total.