Coronavirus: Indonesia approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use; Thailand says latest wave has peaked
- Indonesia has administered at least one shot of Covid-19 vaccine to about 12.3 million of its 270 million population
- Japan’s Nippon Yusen said a passenger on its cruise ship Asuka II had tested positive for Covid-19, while Vietnam recorded its first local case in 35 days
After Sinovac Biotech and AstraZeneca, Sinopharm is the third company to have its vaccine approved by Indonesia, which is seeking to inoculate 181.5 million people by January 2022.
It has suffered one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia, with 1.66 million infections and more than 45,000 deaths reported.
Penny K. Lukito, chief of Indonesia’s food and drug agency (BPOM), said Sinopharm vaccine recipients had reported higher antibody rates and rare side effects, such as swelling or diarrhoea.
“Based on the evaluation and the benefits or risks consideration … BPOM has issued an emergency use authorisation [for Sinopharm],” she told a news conference.
Verdi Budidarmo, CEO of pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma which distributes the vaccine, said the private vaccination programme, which starts next month, could “back up the government to reach herd immunity”.
Over 482,000 ready-to-use doses of the Sinopharm vaccine arrived on Friday.