Ministry of Health seeks to purchase Indovac and Inavac vaccines in 2023
Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Health will propose a budget for the purchase of locally produced Inavac and Indovac COVID-19 vaccines in 2023 to meet community needs, especially for booster vaccinations.
Currently, the Indovac vaccine produced by state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma and the Inavac vaccine produced by PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia have entered the final stage of clinical trials, Director General of Pharmacy and Medical Devices of the Ministry Rizka informed on Thursday. Andalusia. .
During the opening ceremony of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH-OIC) Fellowship Program and the inauguration of the laboratory of the Network of Centers of Excellence (COE) of the OCI, she said the ministry will seek funding from the Ministry of Finance. Ministry to purchase vaccines.
Although the government will stop setting aside a budget for the management of COVID-19 under the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN) from 2023, the ministry will still be authorized to propose a budget for the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19. COVID-19.
As long as there is community demand for booster vaccines, the budget can be offered, the chief executive said.
On the same occasion, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said it was estimated that people will demand vaccines in 2023 since their immunity to the virus is expected to drop early next year.
PT Bio Farma (Persero) said the company is ready to produce the Indovac vaccine. Currently, its maximum production capacity reaches 20 million doses per year.
However, the production capacity can be increased to 40 million doses per year by 2023 with the addition of manufacturing facilities, PT Bio Farma CEO Honesti Basyir informed.
Production could be further increased to 100 million doses per year by 2024, depending on demand for the product.
Chief Executive Officer of PT Biotis Pharmaceuticals Indonesia, FX Sudirman, hailed the Ministry of Health’s commitment to purchase the Inavac vaccine in 2023.
As the producer of Inavac, which was developed in conjunction with a research team from Airlangga University, his company sees market opportunities amid low booster vaccination coverage among adults, adolescents and children in Indonesia.
According to the official website of the Ministry of Health, as of 6 p.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) on September 15, 2022, the booster vaccination coverage among adults aged 18 and above reached only 30% of the total target of 141.211 million beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, booster vaccinations had not yet been rolled out for the targeted 26,705,490 adolescents aged 12-17 as well as 26,400,300 children aged 7-11.
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