Indonesia holds off on AstraZeneca vaccine, awaits WHO review

FILE PHOTO: Prepared syringes of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are seen at the Clinique de l’Estree – ELSAN private hospital in Stains as part of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination campaign in France, March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

JAKARTA — Indonesia will delay the administering of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine due to reports of blood clots among some recipients in Europe and would await a review from the World Health Organization (WHO), its health minister said Monday.

The European Medicines Agency has said there is no indication that the events were caused by the vaccination, a view echoed Friday by the WHO, while AstraZeneca said Sunday its review has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.

“To be conservative, the food and drug agency delayed implementation of AstraZeneca (vaccine) as it awaits confirmation from the WHO,” health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a parliamentary hearing on Monday.

Indonesia received 1.1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine via the COVAX vaccine-alliance scheme this month and is set to receive some 10 million more in the next two months.

Thailand, which became the first country outside of Europe to delay the use of the AstraZeneca shot on Friday, plans to start using the vaccine on Tuesday, officials said, with the prime minister and his cabinet the first to receive it.

The decision will leave Indonesia with just one approved vaccine, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, for use in its nationwide vaccination drive.

Its immunization program started in January and aims to reach 181.5 million people within a year.

The Southeast Asian country has been grappling with the worst outbreak in the region, having recorded more than 1.4 million infections and 38,500 deaths.