The Merah Putih vaccine, developed by Indonesian scientists, could be utilized for both booster shots and regular COVID-19 vaccination, head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Laksana Tri Handoko stated.

“All vaccines, any of them, could be utilized for both booster and regular vaccination,” he told ANTARA here on Friday.

Handoko noted that researchers encountered complex challenges in developing vaccines since several trials were required to obtain the optimal formula for vaccine seed.

The vaccine seed should also fulfill the applicable national standard in accordance with the regulation.

According to Handoko, the Indonesian industry is ready to develop and produce new vaccine with two platforms: inactivated virus and recombinant protein.

Currently, two teams have made the fastest progress in developing the Merah Putih vaccine: the team from Airlangga University (Unair), Surabaya, that collaborates with PT Biotis and the team from Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology that collaborates with PT Bio Farma.

“Eijkman is developing the vaccine seed platform based on the recombinant protein sub-unit, while Unair is developing a vaccine seed based on the inactivated virus,” Handoko stated.

The agency emphasized that the primary goal of developing the Merah Putih vaccine is not to become a “champion” in efficacy, he affirmed.

This is since as long as the vaccine fulfills the standard set by World Health Organization (WHO), of an efficacy of above 50 percent, then the vaccine could be utilized, he explained.

Earlier, protocols for the clinical trial of the Merah Putih vaccine, developed by Unair, had entered the final stage, head of the National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) Penny K. Lukito stated.

Source: Antara News