By: Dodik Prasetyo ) *
The good news comes from the Covid-19 vaccine, where the vaccine produced by Sinovac Bontech Ltd, Coronavac, has been proven effective in its final trials in Brazil. It is hoped that the success of this vaccine will further convince the public to be injected with the vaccine.
The Butantan Institute in the state of Sao Paulo which is conducting the final stage trial has reported the efficacy of the injection. Apart from Brazil, this vaccine is also being tested in other countries including Turkey and Indonesia.
The results from the Brazilian trial put Coronavac above the 50% threshold, so international scientists consider it necessary to protect humans.
However, Sinovac has yet to respond. In the middle of last week the Brazilian Minister of Health said that the sinovac vaccine might be ready for use in mid-February.
Meanwhile, some scientists hope that the vaccine’s efficacy will be comparable to other vaccines that have been announced to be 95% effective. At least the vaccines made by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna have proven that.
The name Sinovac itself is actually familiar to the global public, especially the Indonesian people. The Biotechnology company from Chinca is known as one of the pioneers in making the Covid-19 vaccine with the name Coronavac which is also supplied to the country.
The Chinese health regulator has also reportedly approved the use of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech for emergencies, which is injected into those who are prone to being infected with the corona such as medical personnel.
On a different occasion, Spokesperson for Covid-19 Vaccination from BPOM, Lucia Rizka Andalusia denied that the Sinovac vaccine has the weakest quality among other vaccine candidates.
In a written statement, Lucia said that until now there were no official documents and information from WHO comparing the immune response of the 10 vaccine candidates, or the statement that the Sinovac vaccine was low.
He added that until now there had been no announcement on the efficacy level of the Sinovac vaccine, either from the producer or drug regulatory agencies in the country where clinical trials were conducted.
In addition, Lucia also said that the information showing that only Indonesia ordered the sinovac vaccine was also inaccurate. Because besides Indonesia there are also other countries that have placed orders, such as Brazil, Turkey, Egypt, Singapore and even the Philippines.
Based on the Decree of the Minister of Health Number 9860/2020, the government has determined six types of Covid-19 vaccines that can be used in Indonesia, namely vaccines produced by Bio Farma, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Moderna, Pfizer / BioNTech and Sinovac. So far, only the Sinovac vaccine has arrived. A total of 1.2 million doses of the vaccine made by Sinovac from China also arrived in Indonesia on December 6.
However, the vaccination process still has to wait for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or distribution permit in an emergency situation from BPOM. Meanwhile BPOM is also still waiting for the results of the Phase III clinical trial of the Sinovac vaccine conducted by PT Bio Farma in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, Padjajaran University. The government is also targeting the vaccination process to start in January 2021.
Meanwhile, a vaccine test researcher from Unpad Medical Faculty, Kusnandi Rusmil, explained that this was in the midst of the issue of the cold distribution chain which was predicted to hamper the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer in the world. This vaccine has offered interim results that show an effectiveness of more than 90 percent.
Meanwhile, the Sinovac vaccine, Kusnandi stated, could be the same as other vaccines that are commonly used for mass immunization. Because the material is the same from (the virus) is turned off. This of course dismissed the notion about the ineffectiveness of the Sinovac vaccine.
According to the head of the Sinovac vaccine clinical trial team in Indonesia, vaccines produced by Bio Farma such as pentabio are stored at a temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius. This is the cold temperature range of the refrigerator and the storage device is already in the Puskesmas to accommodate vaccine shipments.
Regarding the technicality of mass vaccination later, he will hand over the arrangements to the government. Including determining the priority of vaccine injection based on the red to green zone.
This is of course a breath of fresh air so that the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia can end soon.
The Sinovac vaccine that has arrived in Indonesia has shown proof that it is safe and effective, so that people do not have to worry about various news that doubts the effectiveness of the vaccine.
) * The author is a contributor to the Cikini Press Circle and Students