Indonesia has shown 115,056 cases of COVID-19 and 5,388 deaths since its first infections in March. It has reported more than 1,000 new instances almost every day since early June.
State-owned pharmaceutical company Bio Farma will begin phase 3 of human clinical trials this week, a vaccine produced through Sinovac from China. If successful, Bio Farma said it would produce the vaccine itself.
The global pandemic has triggered a rush to create a vaccine, with more than a hundred in progression and a dozen already being tested on humans. However, there are considerations about calling for a long-term coup.
Erick Thohir, Indonesia’s phon of state-owned enterprises, said Bio Farma would increase its capacity in the coming months and be in a position to produce 250 million doses consistent with the year.
“Let us accept as true the functions of our country. Don’t hesitate for bio Farma that has been shown to produce vaccines produced with foreign partners or vaccines produced only through them,” Thohir said in a statement.
Indonesian trials will be conducted in West Java with about 1,600 volunteers, according to the West Java website.
Sinovac did not respond to a request for comment. He also works with Bangladesh and Brazil for clinical trials.
Bambang Heriyanto, general secretary of Bio Farma, told Reuters that the projected production capacity of 250 million doses depended on the good luck of the vaccine trial.