Minister Of Health Reveals The Reason Why Indonesia Is The Location For The TB Vaccine Trial

DOC/Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin/ANTARA PHOTO/Aditya Pradana Putra/rwa.

Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin revealed a number of reasons why Indonesia is interested in becoming a clinical trial place for tuberculosis vaccines (TB), one of which is to find out the suitability of the vaccine with the Indonesian people.

"Because with the clinical trial level 3, we can first know the suit for our people, because it depends on the genetics as well," said Budi at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, Thursday, May 8, as reported by ANTARA.

In addition, he said, Indonesia can also gain access to this vaccine technology through the involvement of local scientists from Padjadjaran University (UNPAD) and the University of Indonesia (UI).

Minister Budi said participation in phase 3 clinical trials also allowed Indonesia to produce the vaccine more quickly at Bio Farma, if the trial was successful.

"Thirdly, we can negotiate later when this is finished, we can do faster production at Bio Farma in Indonesia," said Budi.

Budi said the production of this vaccine is important considering that about one million people in Indonesia are infected with TB every year, with deaths reaching 100 thousand people.

Vaccine production is expected to be increased at least 10 times to prevent transmission and death from the disease.

"What we have to produce is at least 10 times the vaccine, so that we can make sure our people don't get hit and we can encourage 100 thousand Indonesians who die every year," said Budi.

The Minister of Health said that the discussion on the clinical trial of the TB vaccine had been carried out by a team from UI and Padjadjaran University.

Budi said vaccines were effective in dealing with the spread of infectious diseases.

He gave an example of the presence of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic that managed to control the spread of the outbreak.

"COVID can stop because there is a vaccine, scientific evidence. So the vaccine is very much needed to reduce infectious diseases," he said.

The Minister of Health said that TB is the number one infectious killer disease in Indonesia, with 100 thousand people dying every year.

"There is no vaccine because this is an incident in a poor country. So developed countries don't want to make it. The Gates Foundation has financed new TB vaccine countries, especially for Latin America, Asia and Africa. These are poor countries with a lot of TB. He made the vaccine now there and is a clinical trial level 3," said Budi.

It is known that President Prabowo Subianto revealed one of the contents of his conversation with Bill Gates at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (7/5), which is related to clinical trials of the TB vaccine in Indonesia.

Bill Gates, through its foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is currently financing the research and trials of the TB vaccine, which has entered the clinical trial phase in several countries.

"He is developing a TB vaccine for the world, but Indonesia will be one of the clinical trial sites (vaccines), and we know that TB is taking our lives quite a lot, almost 100 thousand people die each year," said President Prabowo in a statement at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (7/5).