The House is in a position to support the Nusantara vaccine candidate that Indonesia's scientists are developingJakarta (ANTARA) - The House of Representatives (DPR) completely supports the phase three clinical trial of the Nusantara vaccine, one of Indonesia’s indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidates, a legislator has said.
"The House is in a position to support the Nusantara vaccine candidate that Indonesia's scientists are developing," DPR deputy speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said.
The House welcomes the fact that the vaccine candidate has undergone phase one and two clinical trials, and will later go ahead with phase three clinical trials, he added.
The Nusantara vaccine candidate has also been recognized in international scientific journals, he said in a press statement that ANTARA received here on Thursday.
The vaccine candidate is Indonesian scientists' real contribution to the country and to global endeavors to fight the coronavirus pandemic, he remarked.
The phase three clinical trials would reveal the vaccine candidate's efficacy, safety, and effectiveness before it can be allowed for public use, he informed.
ANTARA has earlier reported that Indonesia is developing six indigenously-developed Red and White COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
Two of the candidates are expected to become ready for use after their production begins this year, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin told ANTARA on the sidelines of his working visit to Jayapura city in April this year.
He admitted that Indonesia seems to have been a tad late in developing the indigenous vaccines, named Merah Putih or Red and White after the national flag, but the government has demonstrated its seriousness towards the vaccine development initiative by forming special teams for the endeavor.
The availability of COVID-19 vaccine doses is crucial for all states across the globe because it will enable them to determine their COVID-19 mitigation policies, he pointed out.
Therefore, the Health Ministry supports fast-tracking the development of the Red and White vaccine candidates so they can be produced and used this year, Sadikin said.
Indonesia has been striving to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since March last year.
To stem the transmission of the lethal virus, the government has rolled out a nationwide vaccination program since January 13 this year.
The time-frame for conducting the vaccination has been set from January 2021 to March 2022.
During the period, the government is targeting to inoculate at least 181.5 million people, comprising 1.3 million paramedics and 17.4 million public sector workers in 34 provinces. (INE)
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EDITED BY INE
Translator: Imam B, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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