Jakarta, IO – The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) stressed the importance of the quality and authenticity of medical products, especially vaccines. This is because fake vaccines can cause serious side effects, even death.
“These counterfeit products not only reduce the effectiveness of treatment and prevention, but can also cause serious side effects and even death, as well as reduce public trust in medical products in circulation,” said head of BRIN Health Research Department, Indi Dharmayanti, as per Brin.go.id, Wed (7/8).
Vaccination is one of the best ways to prevent disease. However, the great benefits of this vaccination can be jeopardized by the existence of substandard and fake medical products.
Indi explained that childhood vaccines can save 3.5 to 5 million lives each year. In 2021, the Covid-19 vaccine is estimated to have saved 14.4 million lives globally.
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To overcome this problem, Indi said, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a ‘Prevent-Detect-Respond’ strategy as a global effort. WHO itself noted that around one in ten medical products circulating in the world are substandard and counterfeit.
Meanwhile, at the national level, the task of ensuring the suitability of medical products in circulation is carried out by the National Standardization Agency (BSN). In addition, the accreditation of medical laboratories/clinics as determined by the National Accreditation Committee (KAN) must also be met. (bp)