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Indonesian Pink Cross officers spray disinfectant on the Pondok Bambu residential space in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 10, 2022. This motion as an effort to suppress the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Eko Siswono Toyudho | Anadolu Company | Getty Photographs
Indonesia goes by way of a brand new wave of Covid infections, with every day circumstances hitting document highs final week.
The Southeast Asian nation has relied closely on inactivated virus vaccines produced by China, which research beforehand confirmed have been much less efficient than mRNA photographs.
Messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines use genetic materials to set off the infection-fighting course of within the physique, whereas conventional vaccines use a lifeless or weakened virus to provide an immune response.
On Wednesday, Indonesia hit a daily record high of more than 64,000 cases — superseding every day infections within the earlier wave, which peaked slightly below 57,000 in July 2021.
The nation has reported 5.2 million cases of Covid-19 to date and at least 146,000 deaths for the reason that begin of the pandemic, based on the well being ministry. It has the best variety of circumstances amongst Southeast Asian international locations, Johns Hopkins knowledge confirmed.
The newest surge in Indonesia’s Covid circumstances has put China-made vaccines to the check.
Two medical medical doctors who spoke to CNBC argued that China-produced vaccines — such because the one developed by Sinovac Biotech which Indonesia has relied on most closely — are nonetheless capable of forestall extreme sickness and loss of life.
In the event you acquired two doses or three doses of Sinovac or Sinopharm, these vaccines frankly are doing their job.
Vin Gupta
assistant professor, Institute for Well being Metrics and Analysis
“That is truly, I imply, the primary and the primary good thing about any sort of vaccine on the planet,” stated Dr. Dicky Budiman, a world well being safety researcher at Griffith College in Australia.
Being much less efficient shouldn’t be the identical as being ineffective, he advised CNBC.
“In the event you acquired two doses or three doses of Sinovac or Sinopharm, these vaccines frankly are doing their job,” stated Vin Gupta, an affiliate assistant professor on the Institute for Well being Metrics and Analysis, an unbiased international well being analysis heart on the College of Washington.
The photographs do not forestall an infection, however are holding individuals out of hospitals — “precisely what they need to be doing,” he advised CNBC’s “Road Indicators Asia” final month, including that the world has had unsuitable expectations of Covid vaccines.
Omicron menace
As omicron unfold in December, researchers from the College of Hong Kong discovered that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which uses the new mRNA technology, fared slightly better than Sinovac shots against the variant, but noted that both did not provide enough protection.
In that sense, all countries remain vulnerable to high case numbers, said Dr. Edhie Rahmat, who is executive director of Project HOPE Indonesia. Project HOPE, short for Health Opportunities for People Everywhere, is a global health and humanitarian relief organization.
He pointed out that the U.S. has administered mostly mRNA vaccines, which are seen to be more effective — but it’s still vulnerable to omicron. Cases surged in the U.S. in January as the variant swept through the country. Deaths spiked but remained lower than in previous waves.
Many developing countries around the world relied on Chinese-made Covid vaccines which are easier to transport and store compared to those developed by Pfizer or Moderna, which must be kept at subfreezing temperatures.
Budiman from Griffith University said countries should use any available vaccine that has been approved by the World Health Organization.
“If we wait [for] the messenger RNA, many people … will die during the delta wave,” he said.
He also said he hopes the world won’t see vaccines as “Chinese” or “Western,” but rather as “available tools” that we have and can use now.
Virus situation
Covid cases in Indonesia started rising rapidly in January and continue to climb. The WHO said in a Feb. 15 epidemiological report that infections in the country increased 68% from the week before.
Rahmat of Project HOPE said the increase in cases has come mainly from cities with high population density such as Bandung, Yogyakarta and the capital of Jakarta. However, the virus could spread further in suburban areas soon, he said.
Bed occupancy rates in hospitals are also rising. “This is a worrying situation. If the cases increase sharply in the coming weeks, there will be many people who need hospitalization, and the hospital surge capacity could be reached very soon,” he warned.
The good news, Rahmat said, is that Indonesians are more aware of tracing and testing now, and are taking initiative to get tested when they’re in close contact with confirmed cases.
The country is also better positioned now, given that vaccination rates have risen, he added.
Additionally, both doctors said people who recovered from an earlier strain of the virus may have some immunity, though they cautioned that the level of protection would wane within months.
However, Budiman said public health measures are not strong enough. He said that the testing capacity is not high enough, which means official figures on case numbers likely do not represent the full picture.
Some 50.64% of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. By comparison, neighboring Malaysia has fully vaccinated 78.54% of its population, while that figure is 56% in the Philippines.
Authorities in Indonesia rolled out boosters for the general public in January.
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