Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccine Expected to Give Immunity for 6 to 24 Months

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Health Ministry's Director General of Disease Prevention and Control, Achmad Yurianto, said the COVID-19 vaccine developed in collaboration with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac was expected to provide immunity from the coronavirus for 6 to 24 months.

“In theory, Sinovac claims—well it’s not only Sinovac but also many experts as well—that the vaccine will give protection for around 6-24 months,” said Yuri in a discussion of Indonesia’s strategy in meeting the capacity and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, September 18, 2020.

However, Yuri clarified the protection period had not been confirmed yet, given the ongoing phase-3 clinical trials. If it is declared successful and can be mass-produced, the vaccine can be recommended for people aged 18 to 59 years old, he added.

“In that general range of age, the vaccine administration will be by intramuscular injection at less than 0.5cc per shot,” said Yurianto.

According to him, there are at least 173 million Indonesians, or 70 percent of the total population, who must be vaccinated in a bid to develop herd immunity.

“Hopefully, 70 percent of the people who are vaccinated can create herd immunity, so the rest will not need to be injected. We are still reviewing this matter,” said Achmad Yurianto.

Read: Jokowi Meets National Team To Accelerate COVID-19 Vaccine

EGI ADYATAMA