Oxford, United Kingdom – July 2, 2024 – A team of Indonesian researchers made significant contributions to the global discourse on COVID-19 vaccine strategies at the recent “Collaboration Beyond Boundaries” conference held at the University of Oxford. The event took place on July 1-2 and brought together a diverse group of experts from academia, industry, policy, and civil society to explore innovative approaches to tackling global pandemic threats.
Left to right (Kusuma Herawati, Miftahul Jannah, Edward Sutanto)
Representing Indonesia at the conference were Kusuma Herawati and Miftahul Jannah from the Summit Institute for Development (SID), as well as Edward Sutanto from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit – Indonesia (OUCRU-Indonesia).
Herawati presented her research on the “Analysis of Reactogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 Inactivated and mRNA or vector vaccines in Pregnant and Non-Pregnant women in Indonesia.” This study involved 1,819 pregnant and non-pregnant women, in Lombok island and. This study found that pregnant women tend to have fewer side effects after getting vaccinated. This might be because their immune system changes during pregnancy, which helps reduce these side effects. The key takeaway is that vaccines like CoronaVac and Sinopharm, which use inactivated viruses, are safe for pregnant women and cause fewer side effects. On the other hand, vaccines like mRNA or vector vaccines (such as Pfizer, Moderna, & AstraZeneca) caused more side effects within the first week after vaccination compared to the inactivated virus vaccines.
As part of a global effort to understand the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on pregnancy outcomes in diverse settings, Miftahul Jannah presented findings from her research titled "Impact of COVID-19 Vaccination on Pregnancy Outcomes: A Prospective Cohort Study." This study, conducted in Lombok, Indonesia, a low-resource setting, aimed to shed light on the potential benefits and risks of vaccination for pregnant women in such environments.
The research followed a cohort of 3,819 pregnant women from two regions in Lombok. The women were categorized based on their vaccination choices: receiving either inactivated, mRNA, or vector-based vaccines during pregnancy, or remaining unvaccinated. By comparing these groups, Jannah's study was able to assess the impact of vaccination on various pregnancy outcomes.
Edward’s exceptional presentation on the “Impact of COVID-19 vaccination with inactivated, mRNA, or virus vector vaccines on immune responses among pregnant and non-pregnant women: A prospective cohort study” earned him the prestigious award for Best Poster Presentation in Vaccines and Immunology category. His study highlighted that while mRNA and vector-based COVID-19 vaccines produced higher immune responses in pregnant women compared to inactivated vaccines, pregnancy was found to lower these immune responses. Thus, his study called for tailored vaccination strategies for pregnant women to achieve optimal protection.
“Participating in this conference was an invaluable experience,” shared Hera. “Attending the International Pandemic Sciences Conference was a valuable opportunity to engage with experts, exchange knowledge on pandemic management strategies. I am excited to apply the innovative communication and community engagement approaches I learned to improve our public health preparedness and response at SID.”
The Indonesian researchers’ contributions to the conference underscore the country’s commitment to advancing better preparedness and action during pandemic and how to keep improving care that communities deserve, despite pandemic.and improving maternal and child health outcomes . Their participation highlights the importance of international collaboration in addressing global health challenges
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