Indonesia's Food and Drug Authority gave Sinovac Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine its greenlight to be used as an emergency vaccine. The vaccine rollout will begin later this week.
Based on the data and considering the guidance from (the World Health Organization), CoronaVac has met the requirements to get the permit to use the vaccine, the chief of Indonesia Food and Drug Monitoring Agency, Penny Lukito told AP.
Indonesia is the first nation to approve the vaccine made in China. The world's fourth most populous country has been facing surging infections and deaths.
According to Interim data from late-stage human testing of CoronaVac, it was found to be 65.3 per cent effective. BPOM, Indonesia's food and drugs authority has said that the figures are lower than in Brazil and Turkey. BPOM head Penny K said, “These results meet the requirements of the World Health Organization of minimum efficacy of 50 per cent.”
Public health specialists are questioning how will the vaccine rollout be effective given the limited number of doses available. Around 1.5 million frontline workers will be among the first ones to receive the vaccine.
President Joko Widodo said that he would receive the first shot. “It's not about putting myself first, but to ensure everyone that this vaccine is safe and halal,” he wrote on social media.
Griffith University epidemiologist Dr Dicky Budiman said research into the vaccine isn't complete yet and will take time.
