Indonesia licenses first home-grown COVID-19 vaccine

Indonesia has approved its first locally developed COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, head of national food and drug agency Penny Lukito said on September 30, hailing it as a step toward “the nation’s independence in access to medicine”.

The IndoVac jab, developed by state-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma and Texas-based Baylor College of Medicine, can now be used as a primary dose for an unvaccinated or partially vaccinated adult in the country.

It has also been granted a halal certificate, meaning it can be administered in line with the Islamic faith in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Lukito said IndoVac has shown an efficacy rate of 92%, while there have been no reports of death linked to it in trials. Reported side effects have been “generally mild”.

A clinical study to use it as a booster jab is underway, she said.

The same day, the agency also announced Indonesia has granted emergency use approval for an mRNA vaccine developed in China./.

VNA