Indonesia’s Bio Farma Seeks Volunteers to Test Coronavirus Vaccines

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian vaccine manufacturer PT Bio Farma needs 1,620 volunteers for Covid-19 vaccine trials, an official said.

“As Bio Farma will begin its phase III clinical trials, the state-owned company is in search of volunteers,” said a spokesperson for State-Owned Enterprises Ministry Arya Sinulingga July 28.

Arya went on to say that the vaccine, which was brought from China-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech Ltd, has also been tested on humans during the previous phase I and phase II clinical trials in China.

Also read: Covid-19 Cases in Indonesia Surpass 100,000 under New Normal Policy

Arya said that people who are interested to become volunteers can immediately register themselves.

“Let us become the volunteers together so that we can take part in this initiative for the country. Hopefully, this vaccine will be used not only for our nation but also for other nations,” Arya said.

The volunteers must be aged 18 to 59 and free of coronavirus and other illnesses, he said.

The registration is open now and will close on August 31, 2020. To sign up, contact the Clinical Research Unit of the Department of Child Health at Hasan Sadikin General Hospital in Bandung, West Java at telephone number (022) 2034471 or via Whatsapp at 08112214235.

Sinovac 

As many as 2,400 Covid-19 vaccine doses were brought in on July 19 from Sinovac and will be tested clinically in the country.

Also read:  Asian Countries Battling Second Wave of Coronavirus Infections

Sinovac developed the CoronaVac to fight the scourge. During the previous trials in China, the vaccine created an immune response against coronavirus infection in the body.

Based on its official website, Sinovac is one of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturing companies. It was started by Weidong Yin who developed the hepatitis A vaccine.

With head office in Beijing, Sinovac operates the facilities for production and research and development in five locations. The company has also established a laboratory in Brazil.

Founded in 2001, Sinovac produces two categories of vaccines: influenza and hepatitis. Sinovac also produces vaccines for animals. Many vaccines that have been produced and commercialized by the company include hepatitis A and B vaccines, H5N1 influenza (bird flu), H1N1 influenza (swine flu), mumps vaccine, and dog rabies vaccine.

(Writer : Akhdi Martin Pratama | Editors: Yoga Sukmana, Muhammad Idris )

Sources: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/07/28/134600426/bio-farma-cari-relawan-untuk-jajal-vaksin-covid-19-ini-syaratnya.

https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/07/22/083748726/profil-sinovac-perusahaan-china-pengirim-vaksin-corona-ke-indonesia?page=all#page3.