Indonesia Eyes Local Covid-19 Vaccine Mass Production by Mid-2021

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Ministry of Research and Technology estimates that it would start the mass production of a local Covid-19 vaccine by mid-2021. 

The estimated timeframe is the quickest scenario based on an assessment by Ali Ghufron Mukti.

Ali chairs the Covid-19 Research and Innovation Consortium at the Ministry of Research and Technology.

Read also: Home Affairs Minister: Indonesia Must Find Coronavirus Vaccine to Beat Pandemic

The statement was made during a press conference at the Presidential Office on July 2.

Ali said that the national consortium’s Covid-19 vaccine development is underway.

Leading pharmaceutical companies such as Bio Farma, Kalbe Farma, and even Eijkman have been developing their own Covid-19 vaccine formulation.

However, Ali predicts that the pre-clinical trial of the newer Covid-19 vaccines will begin towards the end of 2020.

Read also: Kalbe Farma Set to Test Covid-19 Vaccine

“If an extension is needed then the pre-clinical trials would start in early 2021,” said Ali Mukti.

The local development of a Covid-19 vaccine has been done relatively fast, according to Ali. Normally, vaccine development takes years to complete.

The urgency arising from the coronavirus pandemic has pushed Indonesia’s Ministry of Research and Technology to partner with other institutions to speed up the process of the Covid-19 vaccine development.

Read also: Indonesia Seeks Partners for Coronavirus Vaccine Production

The price tag for the mass production of a local Covid-19 vaccine is estimated at around Rp 26.4 trillion.

Ali’s estimation is based on calculations one vaccine will cost $5 or Rp 75,000 and that Indonesia would need 352 million units of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The figure accounts for 176 million Indonesians who would each need two shots.

“Of course, the cost is expensive. It requires plenty of effort from all sides including researchers, academicians, and investors,” Ali said.

Ali added that it will take some time for people to receive the vaccine as it cannot be done all at once.

Read also: Daily Number of Coronavirus Cases Hits Nearly 1,400 in Indonesia

“We would need at least a year to vaccinate everyone.” 

Indonesia’s Covid-19 vaccine is being developed by state-owned enterprise PT Kalbe Farma, Tbk, and South Korea’s Genexine Inc.

Chief of the National Covid-19 Task Force Wiku Adisasmito had previously shared that the first clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine began in South Korea in June 2020.

The second phase of clinical trials is scheduled for August 2020 in Indonesia. 

(Writer: Ihsanuddin | Editor: Kristian Erdianto, Fabian Januarius Kuwado) 

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/07/02/19234501/kemenristek-prediksi-vaksin-covid-19-akan-tersedia-pada-pertengahan-2021

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