Minister Of Health Budi Gunadi: God Willing, Next Week The AstraZeneca Vaccine Will Be Used

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government would begin distributing and vaccinating using the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

"God willing, next week we will start distributing and vaccinating with the AstraZeneca Vaccine," Budi said in a virtual press conference on Youtube EkonomiRI, Friday, March 19.

Currently, the distribution of 1,113,600 AstraZeneca vaccines that have arrived in Indonesia is still pending due to cases of blood clots in vaccination recipients from several countries.

However, now vaccine distribution will continue. Because, said Budi, the Ministry of Health had received information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory (MHRA) that AstraZeneca was safe to use.

"This has been confirmed by the MHRA, that is BPOM London, by the EMA, and the WHO itself last night," said Budi.

It is known, Germany, France and other European countries announced plans to continue the use of the COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca on Thursday local time.

The announcement comes after EU and UK regulators increased confidence in the vaccine, saying the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks.

There are reports of rare brain blood clots that have prompted various countries in the world to suspend the use of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine injection. This is a challenge amidst AstraZeneca's ambition to produce vaccines for the world.

The conclusion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), after an investigation into 30 cases of unusual blood disorders, was that the benefits of vaccines in protecting people from coronavirus-related deaths or hospitalizations outweighed the possible risks. Although it is said there is a link between blood clots in the brain and vaccines it cannot be ruled out definitively.