Indonesian Lawmakers Seek Seizure Of Unapproved Vaccines

Evil abides in counterfeiting drugs; may the demons that perpetrated these crimes Terbakar di Neraka

AGENCIES
06/2/2016

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.

An officer from the National Police Criminal

Investigation department looks at evidence

confiscated from raids linked to fake vaccines

production and distribution in Jakarta

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. “Based on the culprits’ confessions, the fake vaccines have been distributed across Indonesia since 2003,” Agung Setya of the Indonesian police told local media. Two of the suspects reportedly said they distributed fake vaccines to hospitals and community health centers. The case has caused nationwide concern and condemnation, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo demanding the harshest punishment possible for this "extraordinary crime."

Indonesian lawmakers on Monday urged authorities to seize from hospitals and health clinics all vaccines made by unapproved manufacturers, after police exposed a syndicate selling fake child vaccines for more than a decade.

In a country where counterfeit drugs are widespread, the case deals a blow to government health regulators whom many believed to have kept a tight leash on the distribution of vaccines.

Authorities have shut some private health facilities after police smashed a drug-making ring last week that sold fake and potentially harmful booster vaccines for measles, hepatitis B and other viruses in Jakarta and the island of Java. Police launched investigations this year following reports of several children becoming ill after vaccinations.

"This is definitely an emergency," Dede Yusuf, chief of a parliamentary panel on health issues, told reporters before a hearing with government health officials. We don't know what the effect of this medication is. And if it has been going on since 2003 as reported, what is the status of the children who have received it? We want to know the answers."

Health Minister Nila Djoewita Moeloek sought to reassure parents that nearly all vaccines were from government-approved manufacturers, adding that she had received no reports of illnesses related to fake vaccinations.

"The Ministry of Health ensures that the vaccines circulated in the health service units are safe and are not harmful," the ministry said in a statement.

It is alleged that the circulation of the fake vaccines are not more than 1 percent in Jakarta, Banten and West Java.

Fake vaccine medication seized from a criminal syndicate is put on display at Criminal Investigation

Parents could have their children re-vaccinated if they are suspected to have received the fake drugs, the minister added.

"We are working with the national food and drugs agency to collect data and take all measures necessary," health ministry spokesman Oscar Primadi told AFP.

"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. Police uncovered the syndicate after a pharmacist in Bekasi, near Jakarta, was arrested in May for selling medicine without a license. The drugs turned out to be fake and led to the arrest of 14 distributors and makers of the fake vaccines, whose ingredients included the antibiotic gentamicin and saline.

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Posted in: Indonesia Drug Laws,Indonesian Government,Indonesian Law