Indonesia approved its first domestically-produced COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use for people over 18, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing local media.
This vaccine, known as Indovac, was co-created by the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor University Medical Center and Indonesia’s state-owned pharmaceutical firm Bio Farma. The head of Indonesia’s food and drugs agency (BPOM), Penny Lukito, stated on Wednesday that the green light was “given as a primary vaccine for adults.”
In a statement made this month, Bio Farma announced plans to produce 20 million doses of the vaccine in 2022 and 100 million doses by 2024. And it claims to have asked the proper authorities for a halal certificate, which would make the vaccine acceptable to Muslims.
The development of this vaccine was driven by the goal to “help reduce the nation’s dependency on imported vaccines,” with 80% of Indovac coming from domestic production, as stated by the chief executive officer of Bio Farma.
