TheJakartaPost
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Both the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines use a traditional design, containing whole forms of the coronavirus that have been inactivated – a tried-and-tested way of making vaccines that work. However, while these vaccines were initially quite good at stopping people getting symptomatic COVID, this protection waned significantly over time. These vaccines also offer poor protection against infection with omicron. This has put pressure on China to develop more effective vaccines, as it is pursuing a strict containment policy with the virus.
The contradictory statements from top government officials responsible for Indonesia's COVID-19 response indicate that the government has failed to learn from its struggle with the health crisis in the past, especially the first and second waves.
Indonesia approved China's Sinovac Biotech vaccine for the age group last month and about 26.5 million children have been targeted for vaccination, Maxi Rein Rondonuwu, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.
Parents are thrilled that the government will begin administering COVID-19 vaccine to some 26 million children aged 6 to 11 years starting next year, saying they want to give their children as much protection from the virus as possible, including when the children are at school.
“Children aged 6-17 years can now get vaccinated. We are still trying to get more complete data for children under 6, because children at this age require more caution,” BPOM head Penny Lukito said in a press briefing on Monday.
The latest data is a boost to the Chinese firm, whose COVID-19 vaccine has been under growing scrutiny over its effectiveness following reports of infections among healthcare workers fully immunized with the Sinovac shot in Indonesia and Thailand.
