IndoVac, the COVID-19 vaccine produced locally by state-owned pharmaceutical firm PT Bio Farma, is proof that Indonesia can be independent in the health sector, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has said.

“Not only maintaining the resilience of the health sector, but IndoVac also aims to strengthen the independence of the national health sector. With our own vaccines, of course, we can reduce dependence on imported vaccines; we can even stop it because we are already capable of self-producing,” he said in a statement issued here on Thursday.

The IndoVac vaccine, which was launched in October 2022, is a breakthrough and a confirmation that Indonesia is capable of producing COVID-19 vaccines independently, he noted.

IndoVac has shown SOEs’ concrete step in supporting the government in realizing national health resilience.

“SOEs fully support vaccinations through Indonesia Vaccine or IndoVac,” Thohir said.

The minister called for synergy and consolidation of pharmaceutical holdings and hospital holdings so that they form an ecosystem that is integrated from upstream to downstream.

“The consolidation of the national health ecosystem, including research and development (R&D), must continue to be conducted. We do not know whether challenges in the health sector, like the pandemic, will occur again. Thus, we must prepare as early as possible,” he said.

On Thursday, Minister Thohir accompanied President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) as he received an IndoVac vaccine as a second booster at the Bogor Presidential Palace in West Java.

“Alhamdulillah (thank God), this morning, we could give (second) booster vaccine for older adults in Bogor by using a vaccine produced by Indonesia, IndoVac,” he remarked.

According to him, the use of the IndoVac vaccine has shown that it is of good quality and is safe and halal. The production of IndoVac by Bio Farma is a form of SOEs’ commitment to optimizing the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Antara News