The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) is pretty much all of us right now, as it has urged the government to observe all due process for any COVID-19 vaccine candidate so it doesn’t appear to be recklessly rushing to vaccinate the country.
In a letter addressed to Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto, which has circulated among the public, IDI said it appreciates the government’s efforts to eradicate COVID-19 from Indonesia but is recommending a much more cautious and measured approach towards vaccination.
“A vaccination program is important, but it can’t be rushed,” the letter, signed by IDI Chairman Daeng M Faqih, reads.
#vaksincorona jangan tergesa-gesa. pic.twitter.com/OSgROyeRec
— PB IDI (@PBIDI) October 22, 2020
The letter came not long after the government announced that it was aiming to inoculate some 9.1 million essential workers and the at-risk population around the end of November. Though IDI did not draft the letter explicitly in response to this, it did mention the need to give researchers ample time to conclude clinical trials.
Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, which is trialing a vaccine candidate in Indonesia, for example, said it would be able to conclude trials by around January 2021. The government, which has secured a commitment of 290 million doses of the vaccine candidate, has already said that it wants to begin administering the vaccine immediately following the trials in January or February.
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