The whole world should pay attention to Indonesia’s COVID vaccine strategy – BGR

by

  • At the time of writing, more than 42.2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered worldwide. Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.
  • Most countries have started their vaccination programs with vaccinations for older people, but at least one major country is taking a different approach.
  • Indonesia will give people of working age a coronavirus vaccination before moving to the elderly population.

Here’s an interesting thought experiment. If you were in charge of the US coronavirus vaccination strategy, what would your priorities be? Would you decide that the vaccine should be given to the most vulnerable as soon as possible – for example, seniors who we now know are most at risk of dying from COVID-19? Or would you race to vaccinate the people who are as soon as possible infect those seniors? This means that it is better to start your COVID vaccine strategy by vaccinating the people who get sick the most and who most often pass the virus on to other people?

You can follow the logic behind that second choice, right? Even if it seems risky, prioritizing the elderly most likely to die in the coronavirus pandemic. Getting the vaccine to the younger people as soon as possible, however, is considerably easier – these younger people, for example, can come to the vaccination site, instead of health workers to the elderly, to nursing homes and the Like. Also, it is often younger people who contract COVID and then cuddle or pass the virus on to grandma and grandpa in one way or another. This option cuts that out (presumably, but more on that later). In addition, this option also helps the working-age population return to work faster and the economy back to normal a little faster. And while the US, UK and Europe have decided to take a similar route – starting their respective vaccination efforts by targeting vulnerable populations such as the elderly – Indonesia is about to embark on a closely monitored experiment, in which they begin their own vaccination efforts by starting with health professionals, government officials (to build confidence in the general public), and then the general population of 18- to 59-year-olds. In other words, vaccinate younger people before the elderly.

Today’s best deal Purell is still so hard to find in stores, but there are DEEP discounts at Amazon! List price:$ 75.60 Price:$ 51.90 ($ 0.54 / Fl Oz) You save:$ 23.70 (31%) BGR is available from Amazon and can receive a commission Buy now Available at Amazon BGR can receive a commission

To be clear, Indonesia is not doing this to deliberately rebel against the norm of most Western countries’ vaccine strategy. It does this because it must. “We are not going against the trend,” said Siti Nadia Tarmizi, a senior official in Indonesia’s Ministry of Health Reuters, adding that the country’s drug regulators need further data before deciding how to proceed with vaccinating the elderly.

That’s because the country only has access to China’s Sinovac Biotech coronavirus vaccine at the moment. Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine relied on by the US and UK, with its strong efficacy in people of all ages, Indonesia has defended its decision by saying it does not yet have sufficient data on the effect of the Sinovac vaccine. vaccine on the elderly. people.

The roll-out of vaccines in Indonesia will be closely monitored for two reasons. One of these is what we’ve already discussed – what difference it will make to infection rates, starting with the people who get infected the most, rather than the people who get infected the worst? But the other thing is that we also do not know to what extent vaccinated people can still pass on the coronavirus after vaccination.

In other words, think of vaccination such as wearing gloves. You’re now wearing a layer of protection over your hands, but those gloves can still get dirty and leave a mess on things you touch – affecting other people, if you’re not careful

“I don’t think anyone can get too dogmatic about the right approach,” said Peter Collignon, a professor of infectious diseases at the Australian National University, in an interview about the vaccination strategy in Indonesia.

Andy is a Memphis reporter who also contributes to outlets like Fast Company and The Guardian. When not writing about technology, he can be found protective of his burgeoning vinyl collection, as well as his whovianism and binges on a variety of TV shows you probably don’t like.

.Source