During The Postponement, Azis Syamsudin Asks The Ministry Of Health And BPOM To Guarantee That AstraZeneca Vaccines Will Not Leak To The Public

AstraZeneca Vaccine (Photo: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament Azis Syamsuddin asked the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) and the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM) to guarantee the safety of all vaccines after the decision to temporarily suspend the distribution of the UK-made AstraZeneca Vaccine. After the side effect of post-communication follow-up (AEFI) was suspected, in the form of blood clots.

"The Ministry of Health and BPOM must conduct clinical trials on the safety of AstraZeneca vaccines to ensure and ensure the safety of vaccines," said Azis in his statement, Wednesday, March 17.

According to this Golkar politician, the existence of suspected AEFI cases that occurred in several countries made the public worried, so that potentially the citizens of the country were reluctant to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Therefore, Azis asked the Ministry of Health to increase supervision and ensure that there was no leak of the AstraZeneca vaccine, because it was spread in the community during the suspension period. The Ministry of Health, he said, must also ensure that the suspension of the vaccine does not delay the vaccination program.

In addition, said Azis, the government also needs to find other solutions to fill the vaccine stock so that vaccination can continue. Like continuing to do research and research.

"Or accommodate China's plan to make Indonesia the center of vaccine production in Southeast Asia," he said.

Previously, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin postponed the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia while awaiting the results of research by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Currently, said Budi, WHO together with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK) and the European Medical Authority are examining the presence or absence of side effects such as blood clots in the case of using the Oxford vaccine.

"Until now WHO is still researching, we have also received from the MHRA, the BPOM of the UK, and the EMA is the European Medical Authority, they have not confirmed whether there is a correlation due to vaccines or not," said Minister of Health Budi in a working meeting at Commission IX DPR, Jakarta, Monday 15 March.