Indonesia suspends AstraZeneca batch deployment, Malaysia reports record case in fear of post-Eid COVID surge

Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has suspended nearly 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine batch after authorities warned of a surge in COVID-19 cases after celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan Muslims. ..

Distribution of 448,480 AstraZeneca doses from CTMAV547 batches arriving in Indonesia last month under the World Health Organization’s COVAX scheme was temporarily suspended after a 22-year-old Jakarta man died the day after receiving the jab. It was.

Trio Fauqi Firdaus reportedly developed fever after being vaccinated on May 5 and died in the hospital the next day.

Authorities said infertility and toxicity tests would be conducted to ensure that the batch was safe.

“This is a form of government warning to ensure the safety of the vaccine,” Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, said in a statement.

Firdaus’ family told Antara, a state news agency, that he had no known medical conditions.

However, Hindra Irawan Satari, a spokesman for the Indonesian immunization program, said there was insufficient evidence to relate Fildaus’ death to vaccination and further investigation is needed. Stated.

Adrian Esterman, a professor of biostatistics at the University of South Australia, said the outage for the entire batch was “probably not.”

“All rare cases of blood clotting occurred 4 to 20 days after vaccination. This man died 24 hours after vaccination,” he said.

Li Yang Hsu, an infectious disease expert at the University of Singapore, agreed that men are unlikely to die from blood clots, but said the Indonesian authorities’ decision was understandable.

“It is important for health authorities around the world to show that they are taking vaccine safety seriously, so the suspension of related batches of AstraZeneca vaccine by Indonesia, especially in parts of the world where vaccine hesitation is high. I understand, “he said.

“At this point it is not possible to determine why he died and we have to wait for the results of the investigation.”

Concerns about supply in Indonesia, hesitation of vaccines

Indonesia has an ambitious goal of immunizing approximately 181 million people within 15 months. Combine shots from China’s Sinovac and AstraZeneca.

However, as of Tuesday, Indonesian disaster management agencies reported that just over 9 million Indonesians were vaccinated with both COVID vaccines and about 14 million were first vaccinated.

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Unlike other countries, including Australia Indonesia has prioritized vaccination of young people over the age of 60. Many see it as an attempt to boost economic recovery. Indonesia’s first recession for over 20 years.

Ms. Tarmizi of the Ministry of Health said other batches of AstraZeneca vaccine were safe and there was no reason for Indonesians to hesitate to be vaccinated.

Professor Estherman said a recent study showed that 35% of Indonesia’s population was hesitant to vaccinate with COVID due to safety and religious concerns.

“This is likely to be even higher due to the current batch pause,” he said.

The Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines for AstraZeneca, said this week that the current outbreak in India will not resume the supply of vaccines to COVAX and other countries until the end of 2021.

Khairy Jamaluddin, Malaysia’s coordinating minister of the COVID-19 vaccination program, was quoted by local media as authorities “investigating information from Indonesia” in connection with the suspension of AstraZeneca’s batch.

Indonesia prepares for surge as Malaysia locks down

Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said this week after the government has set up a special intensive care unit and isolation beds after Eid al-Fitr, where many Indonesians traditionally travel from the city to their home village. He said he expects the number of cases to increase by 30-80%.

Authorities urged Indonesians to stay home, Critics said formal restrictions were inadequate During Indonesia’s largest vacation, large gatherings were common throughout the country.

Police estimated that about 1.5 million people had left Jakarta. Jakarta is densely populated and is the epicenter of Indonesian coronavirus cases throughout the pandemic. During Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan’s fasting month.

There are strict restrictions in neighboring Malaysia, Where the government announced a national blockade The day before Eid as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin warned of a possible “national crisis.”

Malaysians were forbidden to return to their villages or visit other people’s homes, but were allowed to pray for socially distant congregations at the mosque.

Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on the day of Eid al-Fitr, 440 people were detained for ignoring the restrictions.

Nonetheless, Malaysia reported 6,075 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday — the highest number since the pandemic began.

It also reported 47 COVID deaths on Tuesday after falling below previous records of 44 deaths on May 15 and 39 deaths on May 12, a new daily death record. Continues to record.

According to Johns Hopkins University, Malaysia’s vaccination campaign has also stagnated, with only 2.37% of the fully vaccinated population, 3.36% in Indonesia and nearly 23% in Singapore.

Malaysian politicians, including Trade Minister Azmin Ali and former Prime Minister Mahateir Mohammad, have been accused locally of violating a blockade condition called a movement regulation order.

Meanwhile, a large crowd gathered in Jakarta this week to march to the US embassy in protest of the Israeli bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Israel says its military operations correspond to rockets launched from Gaza by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian protests have also been reported in other major Indonesian cities, including Surabaya, Bandung and Makassar.