Bio Farma has limited stockJakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned pharmaceutical firm PT Bio Farma will obtain 225 thousand doses of the meningitis vaccine in September 2022 to meet the needs of the community until the end of the year.
"This September, 225 thousand meningitis vaccine doses will come, which will be sufficient to meet the needs until the end of the year," President Director of PT Bio Farma Honesti Basyir informed at Sujudi Building of the Ministry of Health here on Thursday.
He said that currently, there is a shortage of meningitis vaccines in a number of areas due to limited supply.
The shortage has occurred because about 20 thousand doses of the meningitis vaccine in storage facilities in a number of areas experienced shelf-life problems or exceeded their shelf life.
"Bio Farma has limited stock. Earlier, there was an issue regarding the shelf life," he explained.
According to Basyir, Bio Farma had obtained a permit from the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) to extend the vaccine's shelf life based on stability testing of 20 thousand vaccine doses.
“Now, it (the shelf life) has been extended for all, there are about 20 thousand doses that have been approved by the BPOM, we will extend it (the shelf life), and this September, (vaccine doses) will come again so they will increase the stock," he informed.
Basyir's statement also answered the problem regarding the scarcity of meningitis vaccine for Umrah pilgrims in several regions of Indonesia.
Umrah pilgrims from Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Kuningan, and Surakarta had faced problems regarding the vaccine’s availability.
Earlier, Head of the Communication and Public Service Bureau of the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, had told reporters that there was a shortage of vaccine stocks in several regions in Indonesia.
The scarcity was caused by the disruption of delivery or distribution from producers. In addition, there was an increase in the number of Umrah pilgrims due to restrictions implemented on the Hajj pilgrimage.
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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