T

he government has finally identified the hospitals and clinics that purchased and administered counterfeit vaccines to children in their care.

The disclosure sent shockwaves across the nation especially among outraged parents who learned that the hospitals and clinics where they sent their children to be vaccinated were on the list.

Santy Juwita, for instance, was shocked when she discovered that Harapan Bunda Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, which delivered and vaccinated her daughter was on the list of hospitals that used fake vaccines. “When I learned about the names, I was enraged because I had my baby in one of the hospitals,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Santy said she brought her daughter to receive the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine when she was four months old because she could not find the vaccine anywhere else. When she took her daughter there, Santy found the procedure to be suspicious with the nurse only accepting payment in cash even though the hospital had debit and credit card machines.

While not all parents experienced the same as Santy, other parents have expressed concern as the investigation into the case continues and the list is expected to grow longer.

Ichwan Susanto, for instance, is postponing his plan to get the malaria vaccine for his 6-year-old daughter as he is still not sure whether he can trust medical facilities again after the discovery of the large-scale distribution of fake vaccines.

“While the clinic where my daughter received her vaccines was not on the list, I won’t be relieved until the case is completely solved,” he told the Post.

Following the disclosure of the hospitals and clinics, the government owes it to the distraught parents and the victims of the fake vaccines to get to the root of the case and punish those behind it as severely as possible, according to Marius Widjajarta, Indonesian Health Consumers Empowerment Foundation (YPKKI) chairman.

“This is an appalling crime because people’s lives are at stake. Their permits should be revoked immediately,” he told the Post.

According to data from the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) 14 health facilities and eight midwife clinics administered the fake vaccines.

All of them received the fake vaccines from one illegal supplier, Juanda CV Azka Medika, which operated in Bekasi, West Java.

The 14 health facilities were named as DR. Sander Cikarang, Bhakti Husada Terminal Cikarang 3, Sentral Medika, RSIA Puspa Husada, Karya Medika, Kartika Husada Setu, Sayang Bunda Pondok Ungu, Multazam Medika, Permata, RSIA Gizar Cikarang, St. Elisabeth, Hosana Lippo Cikarang, Hosana Medica Bekasi, all in Bekasi, and Harapan Bunda Kramat Jati, East Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the midwife clinics were those operated by Lia in the Pelaukan Sukatani complex in Cikarang, Lilik in the Graha Melati complex in Tambun, Iis in the Seroja Complex, Mega in Puri Cikarang Makmur Sukaresmi, the Dafa Clinic in Cikarang and the Tabina Clinic in Sukatani in Cikarang, all in Bekasi, and by Elly Novita in Ciracas, East Jakarta, and the Dr. Ade Kurniawan Clinic in Rawa Belong, Slipi, West Jakarta.

Bareskrim chief Insp. Gen. Ari Dono Sukamto said the police had named 20 suspects in the case comprising six producers, five distributors, three sellers, two bottle collectors for the fake vaccines, one person involved in labeling, one midwife and two doctors.

“The investigation is still ongoing, we are still digging deeper into how far the involvement of the health facilities, particularly the hospitals, in the case. Just because they received the vaccines, doesn’t mean the whole institution was responsible. It could be that some doctors or pharmacists were involved in the crime,” Ari said.

Health Minister Nila F. Moeloek said she would wait for Bareskrim’s investigation before determining the punishments for those involved.

Indonesian Pediatrician Association (IDAI) chairman Aman Bhakti Pulungan estimated that only 500 out of a total of 5 million children across the country had been administered fake vaccines.

“The worst effect is that the children have no immunity to certain diseases, but they could also be infected by bacteria if the vaccines were produced in a non-sterile process,” Aman said.
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