Indonesia's Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) on Monday gave the green light for the emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine produced by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.

The vaccine, named CoronaVac, met the safety standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), BPOM chief Penny Lukito said at a press conference.

"Based on the data and considering the guidance from (the WHO), CoronaVac has met the requirements to get the permit to use the vaccine," said Lukito.

The evaluation results of the supporting safety data obtained from the phase three clinical studies in Indonesia, Brazil and Turkey are overall safe with the incidence of mild to moderate side effects, she said.

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the country will receive the raw materials to produce 15 million doses of the vaccine from Sinovac on Tuesday.

Conditional CoronaVac vaccination among high-risk groups in the country, including healthcare workers and other civil servants, is expected to begin this week.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he would be the first person to receive the vaccine. 

"Why is the President first? It's not about putting myself first but to ensure everyone that this vaccine is safe and halal," Widodo said on social media.

As of Monday afternoon, there have been more than 800,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in Indonesia. The coronavirus epidemic has claimed more than 24,000 lives across the archipelago, according to the Health Ministry.

(With input from Xinhua News Agency, AP)