"Since the need is high not only for Indonesia, so there is a plan that Indonesia will provide grants to certain countries. If needed, in 2023, we will also increase the capacity to 100 million doses," Basyir noted in an interview aired on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel on Thursday.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) launched the IndoVac vaccine at the PT Bio Farma factory, Bandung, West Java, on Thursday. President Jokowi also monitored the first injection of the vaccine.
Basyir explained that IndoVac could be used as a primary-dose vaccine for people, who have not received the COVID-19 vaccine at all. The vaccine can also serve as a booster dose for adolescents and children.
"We are preparing clinical trials, so that it (the vaccine) can be provided to adolescents and children. Of course, we will coordinate with the Ministry of Health, but indeed, the vaccine is designed to be able to be used for people aged six to 11 years, 12 to 17 years, and 18 years and above," he explained.
According to Basyir, IndoVac vaccine production can be a milestone for Bio Farma and also Indonesia, as the country currently has the facilities and capabilities for producing COVID-19 vaccines.
As part of the efforts to boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, targeting as many as 234,666,020 citizens.
According to data provided by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, as of October 12, 2022, as many as 204,722,385 Indonesians had received the first vaccine dose, 171,345,141 were administered the second dose, 64,111,815 had taken the third dose or first booster, and 641,003 had received the fourth dose or second booster.
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Translator: Indra Arief, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
