Jakarta (TodayAsia News) The Indonesian Medical Association issued a statement to the Ministry of Health stating that the third phase of clinical trials must be completed before any country’s anti-new coronavirus vaccination program starts.
Indonesian medical professionals (including physicians) support the government’s efforts to quickly provide a vaccine jointly developed with the Chinese company Kexing Bio.
However, mass vaccination can only be carried out after the clinical trials are completed. For example, in Brazil, another country has purchased Chinese-made drugs together with Turkey, Chile and Bangladesh.
The statement said: “At least 9,000 volunteers in Brazil have been vaccinated, but only after 15,000 subjects have been vaccinated can the final results of the third clinical trial be realized.”
According to Brazil’s strict implementation of safety and preventive measures, Indonesian doctors advise against rushing to vaccinate.
In Indonesia, the final phase of clinical trials of the anti-COVID vaccine began a month ago.
PT Bio Farma, a local company that cooperates with Kexing Biotech, said that 1,074 of the 1,620 volunteers have been vaccinated to complete the third phase of the study. Among them, 671 were tested positive without side effects.
Vensya Sihotang, director of the Surveillance and Quarantine Office of the Ministry of Health, confirmed the results.
According to the World Health Organization, Indonesia is the Southeast Asian country most affected by the pandemic, followed by the Philippines. Before the News, the total number of Covid-19 cases was 382,000, and the death toll reached 13,077.