Health Ministry Echoes BPOM's Stand on AstraZeneca Vaccine
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18 March 2021 15:51 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Health Ministry announced that the use of AstraZeneca vaccines for the country’s Covid-19 immunization will wait for further developments from the study conducted by the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
Covid-19 vaccination spokesperson Siti Nadia Tarmizi on Thursday said that the government will not intervene with this safety issue and will not demand a deadline for BPOM to produce a final report.
However, the vaccinations using AstraZeneca will race against its expiration date that due in May.
“We all have our tasks in hand. BPOM is aware of this and surely is looking into these aspects,” said the Covid-19 vaccine spokesperson in a text message to Tempo on March 18.
Previously reported, BPOM recommends against the use of the AstraZeneca vaccines before the safety review of the British-Swedish vaccine is complete. Fifteen countries worldwide eventually suspended the use of this vaccine following the safety concern.
“As long as this process is ongoing the use of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is not recommended.”
Read: BPOM Postpones Use of AstraZeneca Vaccines over Safety Concerns
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