Thursday, September 21, 2023

Indonesia Won’t Delay AstraZeneca Vaccine Rollout

Natasia Christy Wahyuni
March 12, 2021 | 10:28 pm
SHARE
Workers unload boxes containing AstraZeneca vaccine at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten on March 8, 2021. (Beritasatu Photo/Emral Firdiansyah)
Workers unload boxes containing AstraZeneca vaccine at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten on March 8, 2021. (Beritasatu Photo/Emral Firdiansyah)

Jakarta. The Indonesian government has no plan to delay the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine it received via global procurement scheme Covax, a spokesperson said on Friday.

A number of countries including neighboring Thailand have delayed or suspended the Covid-19 vaccine amid reports of blood clots after it was administered.

The Drug and Food Supervisory Agency, or BPOM, issued emergency use authorization for AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday, a day after 1.1 million doses of the vaccine arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten from the Netherlands.

“The BPOM as regulator has examined the safety aspect of AstraZeneca vaccine. We will continue administering this vaccine for elderly citizens and essential service workers,” Health Ministry spokeswoman Siti Nadia Tirmidzi said during a video conference in Jakarta.

Advertisement

There have been around 30 cases of "thromboembolic events" -- or developing blood clots -- in Europe after the vaccine was administered, BBC reported on Friday.

However, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Thursday that there was no indication the jab was causing the blood clots, adding that its "benefits continue to outweigh its risks".

Indonesia joins other countries who continue administering AstraZeneca vaccine including Portugal, Australia, Mexico and the Philippines.

AstraZeneca is only the second Covid-19 vaccine to have arrived in Indonesia, which has largely used Coronavac vaccine developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech.

Around 3.8 million people have received Coronavac vaccine  in Indonesia since the mass vaccination drive began on January 13.

Of that figures, 1.3 million people have received double doses of the vaccine.
 

Tags: Keywords:
SHARE

POPULAR READS


News 2 hours ago

Jokowi Breaks Ground for First-Ever Hotel in Nusantara

The hotel is being developed by a consortium of prominent Indonesian business magnates, spearheaded by Sugianto Kusuma aka Aguan.
Business 2 hours ago

How to Empower Tanah Abang Traders in Unfair Competition with Online Shops

An analyst called for greater government oversight to prevent social media platforms from running online marketplaces in Indonesia.
News 3 hours ago

Indonesia Pledges to Protect Marine Biodiversity in High Seas

The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty mandates signatories to conserve marine biodiversity in the high seas.
Special Updates 3 hours ago

BP, Pertamina Ink MoU on Potential Carbon Injection in Tangguh

This freshly inked memorandum of understanding (MoU) is also related to the development of blue ammonia in Teluk Bituni.
Business 5 hours ago

IDX Set to Launch Carbon Trading Platform

The IDX claims that the system is fully ready and expects to see transactions taking place during the launch date on Sept. 26.
COPYRIGHT © 2023 JAKARTA GLOBE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED