The new wave of infections in Indonesia is putting its heavy reliance on China's Sinovac vaccine to the test.

• Indonesia has heavily relied on inactivated virus vaccines from China, which previous studies indicated were less effective than mRNA shots.
• On Wednesday, Indonesia recorded more than 64,000 daily COVID-19 cases, surpassing the peak of the previous wave, which occurred in July 2021 with just under 57,000 cases.
• Two medical experts on CNBC stated that vaccines created in China, including the one developed by Sinovac Biotech, are effective in preventing severe illness and death.

Last week, daily Covid infections in Indonesia reached new record highs, indicating a new wave of the virus.

The Southeast Asian country has heavily relied on inactivated virus vaccines from China, despite previous studies showing that mRNA shots are more effective.

While traditional vaccines utilize a deceased or weakened virus to elicit an immune response, mRNA vaccines employ genetic material to initiate the body's infection-fighting process.

On Wednesday, Indonesia recorded more than 64,000 daily COVID-19 cases, surpassing the peak of the previous wave, which occurred in July 2021 with just under 57,000 cases.

According to the health ministry, the country has reported 5.2 million cases of Covid-19 and at least 146,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. This makes it the country with the highest number of cases among Southeast Asian countries, as per Johns Hopkins data.

The surge in Covid cases in Indonesia has tested the effectiveness of China-made vaccines.

Two medical experts who appeared on CNBC stated that vaccines created in China, including the one utilized by Indonesia the most, are still effective in preventing severe illness and death.

According to Dr. Dicky Budiman, a global health security researcher at Griffith University in Australia, the primary advantage of any vaccine is that it is the first and foremost benefit.

He clarified to CNBC that being less effective is not the same as being ineffective.

According to Vin Gupta, an affiliate assistant professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, those vaccines are effectively working if you received two or three doses of Sinovac or Sinopharm.

According to the expert, the shots are not preventing infection, but they are keeping people out of hospitals, which is what they should be doing. He also stated that the world has had incorrect expectations about Covid vaccines.

Omicron threat

Research indicated that Chinese vaccines were less effective than mRNA vaccines, which boasted over 90% efficacy, prior to the emergence of omicron.

According to the WHO, the Sinopharm vaccine's effectiveness against symptomatic Covid infections is 79%, while Brazilian researchers reported the Sinovac vaccine's efficacy to be 50%.

In April, Gao Fu, the director of the China Centers for Disease Control, stated to the Associated Press that Chinese vaccines have low protection rates. However, he later clarified that this was not an admission, but rather a scientific perspective to enhance vaccine efficacy, as reported by the Chinese state-run Global Times.

The UN health agency has approved both Sinopharm and Sinovac for emergency use.

In December, the University of Hong Kong researchers found that the mRNA-based vaccine provided slightly better protection against the omicron variant than Sinovac shots, but both vaccines did not provide enough protection.

Dr. Edhie Rahmat, executive director of Project HOPE Indonesia, stated that all countries are still vulnerable to high case numbers. Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization.

The U.S. has mostly administered mRNA vaccines, which are seen to be more effective, but the country is still vulnerable to the omicron variant. Cases surged in January as the variant swept through the country, and deaths spiked but remained lower than in previous waves.

Numerous developing countries worldwide have turned to Chinese-made Covid vaccines due to their ease of transportation and storage, in contrast to Pfizer's vaccines which need to be kept at subfreezing temperatures.

Griffith University's Budiman advised that countries should utilize any WHO-approved vaccine.

"Many people will die during the delta wave if we wait for the messenger RNA," he stated.

He stated that he hopes the world will view vaccines as "accessible resources" rather than "Chinese" or "Western" products.

Virus situation

The number of Covid cases in Indonesia has been steadily increasing since January, with a 68% increase in infections reported by the WHO in their Feb. 15 epidemiological report.

According to Rahmat of Project HOPE, the rise in cases is primarily due to cities with high population density, including Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta's capital. However, he warned that the virus may soon spread to suburban areas.

Hospital surge capacity could be reached very soon if the cases increase sharply in the coming weeks, warned the expert.

According to Rahmat, the positive aspect is that Indonesians are becoming more conscious of tracing and testing, and are proactively getting tested when they come into contact with confirmed cases.

With the rise in vaccination rates, the country is now better positioned.

Doctors warned that people who recovered from an earlier strain of the virus may have some immunity, but the level of protection would wane within months.

Official figures on case numbers may not accurately reflect the full picture due to low testing capacity, according to Budiman.

According to Our World in Data, 50.64% of the population is fully vaccinated. In contrast, Malaysia has fully vaccinated 78.54% of its population, while the Philippines has fully vaccinated 56%.

Authorities in Indonesia rolled out boosters for the general public in January.