TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM) on Tuesday has issued the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine - also known as the J&J/Janssen Ad26.CoV2.S - which can be given with one single dose.

The agency also issued an EUA for the Convidecia vaccine produced by CanSino.

The agency’s Head, Penny K. Lukito stated that both vaccines have passed the thorough evaluation of the Indonesian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI), which she said adheres to international evaluation guidelines.

The interim data from the third clinical trial for Johnson & Johnson shows that this vaccine has 67.2 percent efficacy against a wide range of Covid-19 symptoms and 66.1 percent for higher symptoms experienced by subjects aged 18 years old and above.

Meanwhile, the Convidecia vaccine logged an efficacy score of 90.1 percent against severe Covid-19 cases. “Based on the results, the tw vaccine brands met the required quality standards,” said the BPOM Head.

The agency has issued emergency use authorization for nine vaccine brands since coronavirus entered Indonesia with the first being Sinovac (CoronaVac) and was then followed by Bio Farma Covid-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer, Sputnik-V, Johnson & Johnson, and CanSino.

Read: Indonesia to Receive Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Next Month

DEWI NURITA