The Minister Of Research And Technology Hopes That The Preclinical Test For The Red And White Vaccine To Be Carried Out By The End Of 2020

JAKARTA - Minister of Research and Technology (Menristek) Bambang PS Brodjonegoro hopes that by the end of 2020 the Red and White vaccine can enter the preclinical testing stage. If this is realized, then in the first quarter of 2021 the first phase of clinical trials can be carried out.

"The Red and White Vaccine is a vaccine developed using the SARS-CoV-2 virus isolate that causes COVID-19 which is transmitting in Indonesia," said Minister of Research and Technology / Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Bambang Brodjonegoro in a written statement quoted by Antara, Wednesday, October 21. .

The Red and White Vaccine was developed by a number of research institutions and universities in the country using a number of development platforms. These institutions are the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, the University of Indonesia, the Bandung Institute of Technology, Airlangga University, and Gajah Mada University.

Unlike the vaccines developed by Sinovac and Sinopharm from China, the Red and White Vaccine was developed using platforms such as recombinant protein, DNA and RNA. Meanwhile, Sinovac and Sinopharm use an "inactivated virus" platform or a killed virus in developing their vaccines.

In addition, the Red and White Vaccine was developed using virus isolates that were transmitted in Indonesia, in contrast to Sinovac and Sinopharm which used virus isolates from their home country, namely China.

Menristek Bambang Brodjonegoro said Indonesia pursued a policy of two parallel schemes or "double track" in vaccine development for handling the COVID-19 pandemic, namely through cooperation with foreign parties and making vaccines independently.

The use of vaccines developed abroad is a short-term effort that the Government can immediately take.

Meanwhile, the Red and White Vaccine was developed as a medium and long term effort to provide vaccines for the needs of the Indonesian people.

It is not known exactly how long the vaccine lasts in the body. The World Health Organization (WHO) only estimates that the COVID-19 vaccine lasts for six months to two years.

The community is expected to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine, both those developed abroad and the Red and White Vaccines that are being developed domestically.

The current pandemic cannot be controlled if population immunity (herd immunity) does not occur due to lack of vaccine. Vaccines are not only useful for one individual but for the entire society.