T

he government is scrambling to save children exposed to fake vaccines as they are, at best, unknowingly vulnerable to diseases they are supposed to be immune against and, at worst, at risk of infection.

While the number of children exposed to the fake vaccines is unknown, the National Police have called it “nationwide counterfeit vaccine production and distribution” and revealed that these illicit activities have been ongoing since 2003.

The police are currently conducting an investigation into a counterfeit vaccine production and distribution ring following several crackdowns in three provinces, West Java, Jakarta and Banten, which have a combined population of more than 68 million. They discovered fake measles, polio, tuberculosis, tetanus and hepatitis B vaccines.

Investigators have arrested 13 suspects, who reportedly include eight fake vaccine plant owners, two distributors, two couriers and one maker of counterfeit labels during raids in Bekasi, South Tangerang, Jakarta, Bogor and Subang between June 16 and 23.

It is also revealed that the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has been investigating the practices since 2013, when it received reports from the public about the fake vaccines.

BPOM therapeutic product monitoring director Togi Junice Hutajulu said the agency had not been able to determine how wide the distribution of the fake vaccine was.

“It’s still being investigated. That’s why we’re asking all regional food and drug control agencies to see if there is any distribution of fake vaccines. So far, there are only three provinces,” she said on Friday.

While the fake vaccines themselves might only contain harmless substances like antibiotics and saline as used in IVs, the government is worried that the counterfeit vaccines could still cause infections.

“While these vaccines do not contain viruses, we’re worried about whether they are sterile. If they’re not sterile, then of course there will be reactions on the skin,” Health Minister Nila Moeloek said on Friday.

The most severe risk faced by children exposed to a fake vaccine is infection, according to vaccinologist Dirga Sakti Rambe. This could happen because the manufacturing process for fake vaccines is unlikely to follow required procedures and may be unhygienic, he said.

“There can be germ contamination in a non-sterile production process. If a germ-infected solution is injected into the body, the vaccine recipient can get an infection,” he said.

Symptoms of such an infection include high fever, a rapid pulse, breathing difficulty and loss of appetite. If a child has a fever after a vaccination but has no other symptoms, parents don’t need to worry because some vaccines cause a child to present with a fever, Dirga said.

If a child was vaccinated within the past two weeks and hasn’t presented with any of the aforementioned symptoms, the child is unlikely to have an infection, he said.

Dirga asked the National Police Central Forensic Laboratory (Puslabfor) to investigate the substances contained in the fake vaccines.

“From these results, we will be able to begin to investigate any public reports involving vaccinations, whether people suffer from infection symptoms or not,” he said.

Nila said the ministry was still waiting for the results from the laboratory. In the meantime, the ministry has issued a circular to all health practitioners, such as heads of regional health agencies, to distribute vaccines to children who are known to have been exposed to the fake vaccines.

“We understand the public’s panic, but until now we haven’t received any report on the effects of the fake vaccines. If they only contain antibiotics, then the impact will not be huge because the average dosage injected is only a half cc,” she said.

The Health Ministry’s director general for pharmaceutical and health equipment, Maura Linda Sitanggang, said the government is currently listing all hospitals that had been identified as receiving fake vaccine in order to determine which children needed to be vaccinated again.

“And for those who are suspicious [that their children were exposed to the fake vaccines], they could consult with their pediatricians. Because the number of fake vaccines could still be localized, we could still catch up,” she said.
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