We need to ensure the vaccine quality at the global levelSurabaya, East Java (ANTARA) - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has confirmed that the domestic-developed Merah Putih (red-and-white) vaccine will be used as a booster vaccine, as well as to vaccinate children from 3 until 6 years old.
Inputs from President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has also been considered in the decision to explore the potential to use Merah Putih vaccine as a booster and children’s vaccine, he added.
"Scientists are currently probing the potential to use the Merah Putih vaccine as a booster vaccine and for children from 3 until 6 years old. At present, not many vaccine variants can be used for children, because, as far as I know, there are only the Sinovac and Pfizer variants, yet the Pfizer variant is currently under clinical tests, as well," Sadikin said during the Merah Putih vaccine clinical test kick-off event at Dr Soetomo Regional General Hospital in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday.
The minister also said that the authority would consider donating Merah Putih vaccines to several countries, including African countries, where COVID-19 vaccine stocks are scarce.
"The vaccine distribution penetration in Africa is slow, and some vaccine variants, such as Moderna and Pfizer, need a complicated logistics facility, as the vaccine must be delivered in a freezing temperature of minus 25 to minus 28 degrees celcius," Sadikin said.
He confirmed that President Jokowi has expressed his consent to the plan to donate the Merah Putih vaccine to several countries, hence expanding the domestic COVID-19 vaccine utilisation coverage to a global scale.
Despite the optimistic plan, the authority needs to register the Merah Putih vaccine with the World Health Organisation (WHO) for clinical and booster tests before the vaccine can be utilised for public use and donated to African countries, the minister noted.
"We need to ensure the vaccine quality at the global level, and we also need to bolster the publication of international research on our vaccine to allow global scientists to study our vaccine," Sadikin said.
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Translator: Fiqih A/Willy I, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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