Hundreds of Vaccinated Indonesian Health Workers Get COVID-19, Dozens in Hospital

JAKARTA—More than 350 doctors and medical workers have caught COVID-19 in Indonesia despite being vaccinated with Sinovac, and dozens have been hospitalized, officials said, as concerns grow about the efficacy of some vaccines against more infectious variants. 

Most of the workers were asymptomatic and self-isolating at home, said Badai Ismoyo, head of the health office in the district of Kudus in central Java, but dozens were in the hospital with high fevers and declining oxygen saturation levels. 

Kudus, which has about 5,000 health care workers, is battling an outbreak believed to be driven by the more transmissible Delta variant, which has pushed its bed occupancy rates above 90 percent. 

Designated as a priority group, health care workers were among the first to be vaccinated when inoculations began in January. 

Almost all have received the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) says.

GRTWT. 

AND THEN THERE'S THIS:

Is this not important for Canadians to consider? Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated more of its population against Covid-19 than any other country, has reintroduced curbs as infections surge. https://t.co/MmcqZEHkPi via @politicos #onpoli #wearelivingalie

— Randy Hillier (@randyhillier) May 5, 2021

Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated more of its population against Covid-19 than any other country, has closed schools and canceled sporting activities for two weeks as infections surge. 

The measures, which include bans on the intermingling of households and the early closure of bars, come even as the country has fully vaccinated more than 60% of its adult population with two doses of coronavirus vaccines. 

The curbs are similar to those last imposed at the end of 2020. “Despite of all the exceptional efforts we are making, the Covid-19 situation in our country is critical right now with many daily cases reported last week,” Peggy Vidot, the nation’s health minister, said at a press conference Tuesday.