The Chairman Of The DPR Urges BPOM To Approve Clinical Trials Of The Vaksin Nusantara Phase 2

Gedung DPR (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Azis Syamsuddin, questioned the reason for the government to temporarily suspend the research process for the Vaksin Nusantara. This is because the vaccine, which is a domestic product made by the nation's children, has passed the phase one clinical trial.

According to Azis, the government, in this case, the Ministry of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (BPOM), should support the development of the vaccine initiated by former health minister Terawan Agus Putranto.

"The government must support and simplify the clinical trial process for Nusantara vaccines and other domestically made vaccines, given the limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines that are halal-certified", Azis said in Jakarta, Thursday, March 25.

Azis urged the Ministry of Health and BPOM to immediately issue an agreement to carry out a phase two clinical trial process for the Vaksin Nusantara.

"The government is to support the financing of domestic COVID-19 vaccine research, particularly the Indonesian vaccine so that Indonesia can produce its own vaccines, thus making it easier to procure vaccines and have vaccines that are more suitable to the characteristics of Indonesians, and ensure halalness", said the Golkar politician.

Previously, the Spokesman for the COVID-19 Vaccine from the Ministry of Health Siti Nadia Tarmidzi said research for the Nusantara COVID-19 vaccine had been postponed for a while.

"It was not stopped, but there was a letter of request from the Kariadi Semarang General Hospital asking to postpone the research process carried out there because remembering that they would first fulfill the requirements for Good Manufacturing Practices (CPOB)", said Nadia in Jakarta, Tuesday, March 23.

She explained that the vaccine research initiated by former Health Minister, Dr. Terawan Agus Putranto, will enter the second phase of clinical trials, before being postponed.

Nadia also did not answer clearly about the possibility that this stage of Vaksin Nusantara's research did not meet the CPOB requirements from the start of her research.

"Yes, it means not, or it could not have been asked at that time", she said.