Vaccine scam rocks Indonesia
Print Edition
INDONESIAN parents were being advised yesterday to consult their doctors and consider re-innoculating their children as a massive counterfeit vaccine scandal sweeps the country.
Police smashed a criminal syndicate last week accused of selling fake vaccines for more than a decade to health clinics across Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 255 million people.
Sixteen people, including a married couple believed to have masterminded the scheme, have been arrested over their alleged involvement. They are accused of distributing fake boosters for diseases including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and tetanus.
Indonesia’s health ministry is working with police to determine the scale of the problem. The national food and drugs agency has confiscated vaccines from nearly 30 health clinics, but it is not yet known how far the syndicate reached.
“We are working with the national food and drugs agency to collect data and take all measures necessary,” health ministry spokesman Oscar Primadi said. “If vaccinations need to be redone then we will do it, it’s not impossible.”
The Indonesian Pediatric Association said parents unsure if their child could be affected should ask their hospital or health clinic about the origin of their vaccines.
The scandal was brought to light after a major pharmaceutical company alerted Indonesian authorities that some of its products had been counterfeited. Indonesian President Joko Widodo demanding the harshest punishment possible for this “extraordinary crime.”
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