Indonesia keeps Sinovac, says best shot is one that’s available as Covid-19 total goes above 1.577 million

A Muslim woman buys iftar, the meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset, at a street-side stall during the first day of Ramadan in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Muslims around the world are observing Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, where they refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sex from dawn to dusk. - AP

JAKARTA, April 13 (Bloomberg): Indonesia will keep using the vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and U.K.’s AstraZeneca Plc. to curb the spread of Covid-19 because they met the standards set by the World Health Organisation, according to the government.

WHO has endorsed the vaccines as safe and have sufficient efficacy rates, spokesperson for the Health Ministry Siti Nadia Tarmizi said by phone on Monday. "We can assure you that the vaccines are safe, beneficial and able to boost our immunity.”