The COVID-19 Task Force Called WHO Asked Each Country To Share Vaccines

Wiku Adisasmito, Spokesperson for the Task Force for Handling COVID-19

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for the Task Force for Handling COVID-19 Wiku Adisasmito said the World Health Organization (WHO) asked each country to share vaccines to prevent the nationalization of vaccines in handling COVID-19.

"WHO has emphasized the importance of sharing vaccines or sharing tools to achieve global recovery together, including preventing vaccine nationalism," Wiku said in a press conference broadcast on the YouTube account of the Presidential Secretariat, Tuesday, September 1.

What is meant by vaccine nationalism or vaccine nationalism is the development of a vaccine that is only intended for the sake of nationalization or for one country only.

This is because WHO assesses that the COVID-19 vaccine is a public property that can be used by anyone. Wiku also explained that currently The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator has been formed.

ACT Accelerator is a global government and private sector organization that develops science and technology in search of the COVID-10 vaccine. So, in the future vaccines can be accessed by anyone at any time.

"Political commitment between countries is needed in dealing with this issue and now cooperation is being developed by various parties in the world including Indonesia in order to meet the need for vaccines," he said.

Previously, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the Indonesian-made vaccine (the Red and White vaccine) was already in the stages of producing 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) which was carried out online, Tuesday , September 1st.

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.

While waiting for the complete vaccine, said Jokowi, Indonesia has secured commitments for vaccine cooperation from a number of countries. The total vaccine collected as a result of this commitment reaches 20 million to 30 million doses of vaccine for the beginning of 2021 and at the end of the year the number will increase to 290 million doses.