Epidemiologist The Value Of Attending A Domestic Production COVID-19 Vaccine Part Of National Health Resilience

UNSPLASH/Towfiqu barbhuiya ILUSTRASI

JAKARTA - Epidemiologist from Griffith University Australia Dicky Budiman assessed that domestic COVID-19 vaccines such as IndoVac have a positive impact on maintaining or protecting the population in Indonesia. "We need the presence of a COVID-19 vaccine that is proven to provide population protection from infection and prevent the severity or fatality," said Dicky when confirmed in Jakarta, Antara, Thursday, September 29. According to him, with domestic vaccine products, Indonesia will have national health resilience. "It must also be noted that the existence of IndoVac is important and strategic in the context of Indonesia and even the world. This means that we can manage vaccine availability and access on our own, it will be very helpful to build community immunity than we import vaccines," he said. He added that domestic vaccine development can also prevent the potential burden of health facilities in Indonesia in the future. "Developing and producing vaccines in the country is a strategic ability to ward off or face various threats in the future," he said. Nevertheless, Dicky reminded, vaccines cannot be used as single weapons in the face of a disease or outbreak such as COVID-19. "In order for the presence of vaccines to be more effective, it must be followed by clean and healthy living behavior," he said. Previously, the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for domestic vaccines produced by PT Bio Farma, IndoVac. "IndoVac's domestic vaccine, which is from Bio Farma with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), has received EUA for the adult primary vaccine," said Head of BPOM RI Penny K Lukito. He said IndoVac was the second domestically-made COVID-19 vaccine to obtain EUA BPOM RI, in addition to a vaccine with an mRNA platform produced by PT Etana. Meanwhile, the InaVac Vaccine produced by PT Biotis Pharmaceutical Indonesia in collaboration with Universitas Airlangga researchers is still completing the final clinical trial process for primary and booster vaccines.