Jokowi: The Development Of Red And White And Nusantara Vaccines Must Be Supported

President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) invited all parties to support the development of the domestic COVID-19 vaccine, namely the Red and White Vaccine and the Nusantara Vaccine. This is because innovation is the key to the progress of a country, including Indonesia.

"Currently, the vaccines being developed in Indonesia are the Red and White Vaccine and the Nusantara Vaccine which we must continue to support", said Jokowi in a video caption broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel, Friday, March 12.

This kind of innovation and research in the field of vaccines and medicines, said the former Governor of DKI Jakarta, is important especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reason is that this development could help the government to speed up access to the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for the community.

It's just that, he asked, the development of this vaccine must be in accordance with scientific principles. The Red and White Vaccine and the Nusantara Vaccine, said Jokowi, must also carry out clinical trials that are in accordance with applicable procedures, are open, transparent, and involve many experts.

"These requirements and views are important to prove that the process of making vaccines prioritizes the element of precaution and can be scientifically accounted for. So that the resulting vaccine is safe and effective in use", he said.

Later, when all these stages are completed, the government will accelerate the production of vaccine doses. The goal is to meet domestic needs.

As previously reported, the Red and White and the Nusantara Vaccines are both made by Indonesian scientists.

The Nusantara vaccine is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by former Health Minister Terawan Agus Putranto with scientists from Diponegoro University (Undip), Semarang, in collaboration with PT Rama Emerald Multi Sukses (Rama Pharma) in collaboration with AIVITA Biomedical Inc from California, United States. This vaccine is based on dendritic cells and its development was initiated in late 2020.

Meanwhile, the Red and White Vaccine is a group of vaccine candidates developed by a research consortium under the auspices of the Ministry of Research and Technology/National Research and Innovation Agency (Kemenristek/BRIN). There are seven institutions that are involved in developing this type of vaccine and among them is the Eijkman Institute of Molecular Biology and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).