Tangerang, Banten (ANTARA) - PT Bio Farma’s protein subunit platform COVID-19 vaccine, IdoVac, has obtained a marketing permit for use as a primary vaccine in the national immunization program, the Health Ministry informed on Thursday.

“So, PT Bio Farma's IndoVac has now received distribution permit or emergency use authorization (EUA) for primary vaccinations of first and second doses," Director General of Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment at the ministry Lucia Rizka Andalusia informed in Tangerang.

She said that following a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, her administration worked hard to produce and obtain permits for the domestic vaccine's distribution.

Now that the EUA permission and halal certification have been received from the National Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) for the vaccine, public vaccinations can immediately be pursued to help people.

"And now IdoVac, hopefully, in the next one or two weeks, its production can be used immediately," Andalusia informed.

Meanwhile, other domestic vaccines such as InaVac, which uses an inactivated virus platform and has been developed by an Airlangga University team in collaboration with PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia, are also set to receive marketing permits from the two entities.

"For InaVac, the distribution permit will soon follow, maybe one to two days; waiting for the announcement from BPOM," she said.

President Director of pharmaceutical state-owned enterprise PT Bio Farma (Persero) Honesti Basyir said that the company is ready to produce 20 million doses of the IndoVac vaccine in the initial stage.

The number could be increased to 40 million doses per year by 2023 with additional production facilities.

It could be increased again to 100 million doses per year by 2024, depending on the need and demand.

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Translator: Azmi S M, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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