New AstraZeneca That May Be A Condition Of Hajj And Umrah Travel, Vaccines Made By China Has Not Obtained WHO Permits

JAKARTA - President Director of PT Bio Farma (Persero) Honesti Basyir said that in addition to the AstraZeneca vaccine, all types of vaccines in Indonesia so far have not been used as a condition of hajj or umrah trips to Saudi Arabia.

As is known, in the national vaccination program, the Indonesian government uses vaccines made by Sinovac as well as vaccines made by PT Bio Farma whose raw materials come from Sinovac. Both of them and other vaccines mainly made in China, honesti said, have not bagged a certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO)

"Indeed none of the vaccines that we use today are coming in except AstraZeneca, which is a vaccine from China emang yet," he said in a hearing meeting with Commission IX of the House of Representatives, Thursday, May 20.

Meanwhile, honesti said, Sinopharm vaccine has obtained emergency use authorization (EUA) from WHO. As for Sinovac it is still in progress.

Honesti said, previously Bio Farma has had discussions with Sinovac. From there it is known that no data whatsoever is requested by WHO as a condition of EUA approval. So granting an emergency use permit is just a matter of time.

"Hopefully maybe early June or the second Sunday of June, Sinovac is already getting EUA from WHO. So nati bsia become the basis we communicate with the government of Saudi Arabia, Sinovac, Sinopharm, and all vaccines used in Indonesia deserves to be a requirement," he explained.

For information, the Saudi Arabian Authorities allow umrah, but with a note only for pilgrims who have been vaccinated covid-19. Later, The Minister of Religious Affairs yaqut Cholil Qoumas confirmed that the permit applies to pilgrims who have been injected with vaccines with certification from the World Health Organization (WHO).

While it is known that Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine, which is mostly injected into Indonesians, is said to have not been certified by who. Although not yet certified from who, according to Yaqut, Sinovac vaccine does not mean it can not. He said it was likely that Sinovac was still in the process of obtaining a certificate from who.