Nusantara Vaccine Polemic, DPR: Comments Without Confirmation Don't Contribute Anything

Illustration (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Nusantara vaccine developed by former Health Minister (Menkes) Terawan Agus Putranto caused a polemic because a number of parties doubted it.

Deputy Chairperson of the House of Representatives Commission IX Melki Laka Lena assessed that without confirmation to researchers or seeing the results issued by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), it would not make any contribution regarding efforts to implement Presidential Instruction Number 6 of 2016 concerning accelerating the production and use of drugs and medical devices. domestic.

In fact, this has become the concern of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

"For researchers and various groups with other opinions, please go directly to Undip or Kariadi Hospital. They can also wait for the results of the BPOM which is currently checking this data," Melki said in a written statement quoted by VOI, Tuesday, February 23.

He also said that Commission IX of the Indonesian Parliament had visited and seen directly to hear the explanation from the Diponegoro University (Undip) research team and Kariadi Hospital regarding the first phase clinical trial on 30 people. According to him, all this time the team had been working in silence and only had the courage to open up and publish after the process was complete.

"And the results are positive, (Nusantara Vaccine, red) has the potential to become a vaccine with a new method and is individualized," he said.

Not only that, based on the team's presentation, this vaccine also did not cause side effects in 30 volunteers in the first phase of clinical trials. In fact, the increase in the volunteers' antibodies to COVID-19 was relatively high.

"Representatives of BPOM were also present at that time and received the results of the first stage clinical trial for further investigation before entering the second stage of clinical trials," he explained.

Furthermore, he also said that if in the future the vaccine that was developed by Terawan and a number of parties had gone through a series of tests according to the provisions, this would certainly make Indonesia sovereign in the health sector. This, Melki said, also applies to the COVID-19 testing tool, namely GeNose.

"GeNose and Nusantara Vaccines, if they have gone through a series of tests according to the applicable regulations, can be the entry points to build Indonesia's sovereignty and independence in the health sector," he said.

Previously reported, it was not heard for a long time after being removed from the Minister of Health, Terawan Agus Putranto, making a surprise with the Nusantara Vaccine he had developed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The vaccine, which has passed phase two clinical trials, has since become public attention.

This vaccine development is in collaboration with AIVITA Biomedical Inc. in California, United States by involving researchers from Gadjah Mada University, Jogjakarta, Sebelas Maret State University (UNS) Solo, and Diponegoro University Semarang and Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital Jakarta.

He claims, this vaccine can produce immunity that provides long-term protection. In addition, in an interview on Wednesday, February 17, he said this vaccine is personal and can be used by all groups, including those with comorbidities or comorbidities.

"Of course, the generalized concept must be changed to the concept of personality individual vaccination," said Terawan.

He explained, the process of making this Nusantara Vaccine went through an incubation process for approximately 7 days. Until later it will become an individual or personal vaccine.

"The point is that every time we have a dendritic cell, we only need to introduce the COVID-19 antigen so that it will have a dendritic cell memory against COVID-19," he said.

Terawan hopes that this vaccine passes in all stages of the trial and gets permission from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) and halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) so that it can be mass produced.

In the process of mass production, he believes that in a month there will be 10 million doses of vaccine that can be produced. "And it is expected to create vaccine independence," he said.