VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The principle of safety will be the main consideration while carrying out COVID-19 immunization, chief expert of deputy II at the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Brian Sri Prahastuti said.

“The government has involved the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) as an official institution in Indonesia that is providing distribution permits and emergency-use authorization (EUA) approval," said Sri in a statement received in Jakarta on Friday.

Currently, BPOM officials are visiting a factory owned by Sinovac, a China-based pharmaceutical company that has partnered with PT Bio Farma Persero for producing its COVID-19 vaccine, Sri said. The BPOM is reviewing the vaccine production process at Sinovac's facilities.

Phase 3 clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate of Sinovac and Bio Farma are also being carried out in Bandung, West Java. The trials cover a large sample group of 1,000-10,000 samples, Sri said.

"Our understanding is better for the production of Sinovac vaccines because Indonesia is involved in Phase 3 clinical trials, and PT Bio Farma Persero will also be involved in the production process at certain stages. And we know that Bio Farma in vaccine production and Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS) in vaccine clinical trials have high credibility internationally," she remarked.

The KSP will guarantee the effectiveness and safety of vaccines under production, she added.

Therefore, Sri said, the public should not hesitate over the final conclusions and recommendations regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.

The government will also involve Indonesia In Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ITAGI) in the later vaccination process.

The government’s efforts to check the spread of the virus include vaccination for boosting immunity against COVID-19, Sri said.

In addition to immunization, changing public behavior to increase compliance with health protocols will also play an important role in controlling the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, she noted.

Sri said that immunization would have a direct impact -- in the form of better protection against the virus -- on individuals who receive it.

If the program is successfully implemented, covering at least 75 percent of the population, it will help achieve herd immunity and the number of viruses in circulation will certainly decrease, Sri pointed out.

"That way, 25 percent of the population, who for some reason did not get an immunization, will also get protection benefits because there would be very few viruses circulating in the community," Sri said. (antaranews)