JAKARTA: Indonesia’s drug regulator on Friday approved the COVID-19 vaccine of China’s Sinopharm, which it will use in a private immunization scheme where companies buy government-procured vaccines to inoculate their staff.
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 diarrhea.
“Based on the evaluation and the benefits or risks consideration ... BPOM has issued an emergency use authorization (for Sinopharm),” she told a news conference.
Verdi Budidarmo, CEO of pharmaceutical company Kimia Farma which distributes the vaccine, said the private vaccination program, 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.
No detailed efficacy data of Sinopharm’s vaccine has been publicly released.
However, its developer, Beijing Biological Products Institute, a unit of Sinopharm subsidiary China National Biotec Group, has said the vaccine was 79.34 percent effective in preventing people from developing the disease, based on interim data.
Indonesia’s vaccine program has slowed due to an export ban from India and other supply issues, although health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said he hoped it could get back on track in May.
It has administered at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine to about 12.3 million of its 270 million population.
The country received 6 million doses of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine in bulk on Friday. It has also received 3.85 million ready-to-use doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week and Budi said 10 million to 15 million additional Sinovac vaccine doses would be received in the next few weeks.
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Indonesia approves Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
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Indonesia approves Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
- Sinopharm is the third company to have its vaccine approved by Indonesia
- Indonesia’s vaccine program has slowed due to an export ban from India and other supply issues
Mexico seeks answers after citizen dies in US custody
MEXICO CITY: Mexican authorities sought details on Thursday about the death of one of its citizens this week in an immigration detention facility in the US state of Georgia.
The number of people detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased significantly in recent years, and 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detainees in two decades, with at least 30 people dying in detention centers.
At least four people have died in ICE detention so far this year, according to agency data.
On Thursday, Mexico’s consulate in Atlanta said it was “closely monitoring” the death of a Mexican citizen on Wednesday at an ICE facility south of the southern state’s capital.
Officials requested “that the circumstances of the incident be clarified,” the consulate said, adding that it was “collaborating on the necessary procedures to ensure that the investigation is conducted promptly and transparently.”
The consulate did not release the person’s name but said it planned to return the person’s remains to Mexico as soon as possible.
US officials have not publicly commented on the incident.
ICE has been at the forefront of US President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
More than 68,000 adults were in ICE detention as of the end of December, compared with about 36,000 in December 2023, agency data shows.
The agency has come under intense public scrutiny in recent days following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an immigration officer in Minneapolis on January 7, sparking protests across the US.
The number of people detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has increased significantly in recent years, and 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detainees in two decades, with at least 30 people dying in detention centers.
At least four people have died in ICE detention so far this year, according to agency data.
On Thursday, Mexico’s consulate in Atlanta said it was “closely monitoring” the death of a Mexican citizen on Wednesday at an ICE facility south of the southern state’s capital.
Officials requested “that the circumstances of the incident be clarified,” the consulate said, adding that it was “collaborating on the necessary procedures to ensure that the investigation is conducted promptly and transparently.”
The consulate did not release the person’s name but said it planned to return the person’s remains to Mexico as soon as possible.
US officials have not publicly commented on the incident.
ICE has been at the forefront of US President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
More than 68,000 adults were in ICE detention as of the end of December, compared with about 36,000 in December 2023, agency data shows.
The agency has come under intense public scrutiny in recent days following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an immigration officer in Minneapolis on January 7, sparking protests across the US.
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