Agree To Produce Red And White Vaccines, DPR: So As Not To Be Dependent On Other Nations

Illustration (Angga Nugraha / YOU)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission IX of the Indonesian House of Representatives Saleh Partaonan Daulay supports the government in producing the COVID-19 vaccine, namely the Red and White vaccine.

Saleh said, even though the government had ordered vaccines from a Chinese company, Sinovac, it was necessary to independently manufacture vaccines so that they would not depend on other countries.

"Even if the Sinovac vaccine is successful, the research for the Red and White vaccine still has to be completed. We don't want dependence on other nations. If we produce it ourselves, it means we can be independent," said Saleh to VOI, Tuesday, September 1.

Saleh said the DPR continued to support the government's efforts to seek vaccines and drugs related to handling COVID-19. Therefore, Saleh asked the government to continue to coordinate with research institutions that are members of the COVID-19 Research and Innovation Consortium.

"Do not let any research institute want to run, but there are other research institutions that refuse. It needs to be coordinated, not to beat each other, but to contribute in order to produce a quality vaccine product," he explained.

In addition, Saleh urged the government to provide subsidies for all scientific activities in the context of developing the handling of COVID-19.

"All scientific activities in the search for a covid vaccine, for vaccine research, need incentives. Don't for example one is assisted, the other is not assisted. Because not all research institutions have a budget," he said.

As is known, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the vaccine made in Indonesia (the Red and White vaccine) is already in the stages of making vaccine seeds. He believes the vaccine can be clinically tested in early 2021 and after that it can be mass produced immediately.

"Currently the Red and White vaccine is in the process of making vaccine seeds or seed vaccines and the process is already 30-40 percent," said Jokowi in his briefing to 34 Governors throughout Indonesia facing the COVID-19 pandemic and National Economic Recovery (PEN).

The vaccine, he said, was carried out by a national consortium involving the Eikjman Institute for Molecular Biology along with a number of universities and research institutes.

With this condition, Jokowi believes that the clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine will be completed in early 2021. "And God willing, it will be ready for production in mid-2021," he said.