Bio Farma Corporate Secretary and spokesperson Bambang Heriyanto made the statement in a press release on Tuesday that the process of delivering COVID-19 vaccines, both in the form of finished products and bulk goods, was ongoing.
From December 6, 2020, to July 22, 2021, the number of vaccines for Indonesia was estimated at 151.9 million doses, comprising 123.5 million received from Sinovac in bulk form and another 22.4 million received from AstraZeneca and Moderna in the form of finished products.
The quarantine process for vaccines is done for COVID-19 vaccines in the form of finished products and bulk.
Bulk vaccines require a longer quarantine process in comparison with vaccines in finished products.
Due to the lengthy quarantine issues, Bio Farma cannot send the vaccine received to the district/city health office directly.
"For instance, for the type of bulk vaccine received from Sinovac, Bio Farma must conduct quarantine, such as an internal test by Bio Farma's Quality Control (QC), and (we) need to obtain a release permit from Bio Farma's Quality Assurance to then enter the fill and finish process at BioFarma's production facilities,” Heriyanto expounded.
After the fill and finish process is complete, the finished COVID-19 vaccines must go through the quarantine process again whilst awaiting the lot release issued by BPOM.
Related news: BPOM guarantees quality of Bio Farma products
Heriyanto noted that it was different from the finished product vaccines that did not require COR to be used by the public.
The vaccines, in the form of finished products, will undergo the sampling process by BPOM before the public can use them.
In every process of filling and finishing bulk of the COVID-19 vaccines, the shrinkage in each process of making the COVID-19 vaccine must be noted, he reminded.
"That is what causes the number of doses received in bulk form to not be the same as the number of doses when it becomes the finished product," he pointed out.
"Usually, it is 10 to 15 percent lesser than the bulk amount received. Hence, from the target of 140 million bulk doses of vaccine that Bio Farma will receive, it is estimated that there will be approximately 122.5 million doses of ready-to-use finished products," he stated.
This shrinkage is common in any vaccine manufacturing process caused due to the production process at the manufacturer's side and during the vaccine administration process in the community, among others.
“This is because during the production process, starting from homogenization to filling and packing, vaccines are bound to be lost during the process. Of course, there is wastage in this process. This process is normal and cannot be avoided. For instance, there is leftover in the hose, and in the tank also there is wastage left, including of the packaging process," he explained.
The Sinovac vaccine produced by Bio Farma offers additional quantity of vaccine as a precautionary measure against the filling process into multi-dose vials. The COVID-19 vaccine is placed in 5-ml packages that can be allocated to 10 recipients, so each person will receive 0.5 ml.
Related news: BPOM awaits test result to issue authorization for vaccination
In reality, Bio Farma will provide an additional volume of between 5.9 ml to 6 ml as opposed to the exact 5 ml.
"This is because in practice, at the time of taking one dose, it is usually a little extra to get an even 0.5 ml per dose of vaccine when injected," he stated.
It is estimated that Bio Farma can produce 99.5 million doses of finished product vaccines out of 123.5 million bulk vaccine doses.
As per July 26, 2021, some 90.1 million doses of finished product vaccines were processed out of 110.7 million doses, which were taken out of 123.5 million bulk vaccine doses. Approximately 16.6 million doses of finished products have been released in July and 19.8 million doses are ready to be allocated in August.
The total of 87 million vaccine doses released were produced by Bio Farma and AZ and Moderna. Some 77.9 million doses have been allocated, comprising three million doses of CoronaVac, 9.2 million doses of AstraZeneca, and 65.7 million doses of BioFarma.
The distribution process from Bio Farma using the stock that received the BPOM’s lot release continues to run in accordance with the Health Ministry's allocation order. Related news: Govt to inject Rp2 trillion into Bio Farma for vaccine procurement
Related news: Bio Farma cites 7.60 percent of Indonesians unwilling for vaccination
Translator: Ajat Sudrajat, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
