Indonesia has approved a Covid-19 vaccine produced by a unit of China's Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products for emergency use, its food and drug agency (BPOM) has said.

BPOM chief Penny Lukito said the protein-recombinant vaccine, given three times in a three-month span, has an efficacy rate of about 81 per cent, with 77.47pc efficacy against the Delta variant, lower than other variants.

The country has recorded more than 4.2 million coronavirus cases and 142,000 deaths overall, but average daily infections have fallen dramatically since the peak of its crisis in July, according to Reuters.

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