Even though she belongs to the vulnerable group, Tati had never taken up the offer to be vaccinated against Covid-19, because she was unsure as to the origins and safety of the vaccine that would be used.
By
MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA, CORNELIUS HELMY HERLAMBANG
·6 minutes read
BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN/LAILY RACHEV
President Joko Widodo launched the Covid-19 vaccine made by Bio Farma, IndoVac, at the PT Bio Farma (Persero) Factory, Bandung City, West Java Province, on Thursday (13/10/2022).
Indonesia is entering a new chapter in its fight against Covid-19. IndoVac, the locally made Covid-19 vaccine, can now be used as a primary vaccine for adults in realizing public health security.
Tati Karwati (52), a resident of Cimenyan, Bandung regency, West Java, was so happy that she was finally able to see President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in person. She even smiled at the President. "Usually, I can see him only on television," Tati said cheerfully at the Bio Farma office in the city of Bandung on Thursday (13/10/2022).
Tati felt relieved when the needle was removed from her right arm. This was because the injection had no significant impact. Her arm was sore, but she did not feel dizzy at all. "This is the first time I have been injected with the Covid-19 vaccine," she said.
That day, Tati was one of 25 volunteers to receive their first dose of IndoVac, a Covid-19 vaccine developed and manufactured by state-owned pharamaceutical company, PT Bio Farma. President Jokowi was there to observe the vaccine’s administration in person.
She was worried that it might contain certain ingredients that would make the vaccine unsafe for injecting into her body.
Even though she belongs to the vulnerable group, Tati had never taken up the offer to be vaccinated against Covid-19, because she was unsure as to the origins and safety of the vaccine that would be used. She was worried that it might contain certain ingredients that would make the vaccine unsafe for injecting into her body.
This was until she finally received another offer around two weeks ago to receive a vaccine made by PT Bio Farma, and which had obtained halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) as well as the he Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH).
Tati finally agreed to be vaccinated, as Bio Farma products had been used in 152 countries so far, including 52 Islamic countries. "I immediately agreed," she said.
Young people
IndoVac was developed by PT Bio Farma in cooperation with the United States’ Baylor College of Medicine starting in November 2021. The vaccine was developed using a recombinant protein subunit containing a recombinant receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-Cov-2 protein as the active substance. The clinical trials were conducted from November 2021 to 24 Sept. 2022.
KOMPAS
The Covid-19 vaccine made by Bio Farma, IndoVac, which was launched by President Joko Widodo at the PT Bio Farma (Persero) Factory, Bandung City, West Java Province, Thursday (13/10/2022).
The results indicate that IndoVac is safe, with potential adverse events following immunization (AEFI) of mild intensity, such as pain at the site of the injection. IndoVac is also effective in increasing antibodies against the coronavirus.
In an immuno-bridging trial using another vaccine with above 80 percent efficacy for comparison, the IndoVac vaccine has proved to be non-inferior. This means that IndoVac has greater effectiveness compared to the other vaccine with efficacy above 80 percent.
This made it easy for IndoVac to obtain emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM). IndoVac can be used for primary vaccination (two doses) in adults. The vaccine’s domestic component (TKDN) level reaches 90 percent.
President Jokowi said IndoVac was the result of the hard work of Indonesia's young scientists who had worked hard on the new vaccine “from upstream to downstream”.
"It was silent, and suddenly there was IndoVac," said the President.
The President also expressed his hope that, in the future, Indonesia would become independent in terms of vaccine production. Moreover, Bio Farma was capable of producing 3 billion doses of the vaccine per year.
Hearing the President’s remarks, Indian vaccine research coordinator Acep Riza Wijayakusmah (40) was unable to hold back his tears. "It's a mixed feeling, excited, proud, and grateful all together. All our hard work has not been in vain,” Acep said, with tears in his eyes.
Acep and his team have been working for the past 1.5 years to produce IndoVac, and it has not been easy. The pandemic forced Acep and his team to race against time. They had to make changes to the vaccine research and development process.
But because of the pandemic, all stages of the vaccine’s development were carried out remotely via teleconferencing and email.
Usually, the team first visits the country they were collaborating with to monitor progress. But because of the pandemic, all stages of the vaccine’s development were carried out remotely via teleconferencing and email.
"There are three conditions that must be met, namely ensuring safety, good quality, and consistent production," he said.
In addition to the research, many challenges emerged during the production process. Baylor College of Medicine only sent vaccine seeds, so the entire process, from the upstream to the downstream and from the preclinical stages to the first, second and third phases of the clinical trials, was carried out in Indonesia. “An analogy is that the vaccine, which is usually made [at the proportion of] a handful of cookie dough, must be made on a community scale using advanced technology,” said Asep.
Using Bio Farma's ability to produce recombinant vaccines, the vaccine was developed in stages. The vaccine’s development, which typically takes 5-10 years, was accelerated to just 1.5 years. Now, with its various benefits, IndoVac is highly expected to be Indonesia’s new ammunition in curbing the pandemic.
MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA
Officers inject a dose of Indovac Vaccine to volunteers at the PT Bio Farma Office, Bandung City, West Java, on Thursday (13/10/2022).
Data from the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, obtained via covid19.go.id, showed that confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the nation as of Sunday (16/10) totaled 6.455 million cases.
Data from the Health Ministry, obtained through vaksin.kemkes.go.id, showed that as many as 204.77 million people had received their first vaccine dose as of Sunday evening. This is equivalent to 87.26 percent of the total target of 234.66 million vaccine recipients.
Bio Farma director Honesti Basyir said the company had the capacity to produce up to 120 million doses of IndoVac per year. The current vaccine production target was 20 million doses to meet domestic needs. "Together with Kimia Farma and Indofarma, we are motivated to meet the national health demand so there is no need to import [vaccines] anymore," he said.
BPOM head Penny K. Lukito said Bio Farma’s capabilities in producing the locally made Covid-19 vaccine was the pride of the Indonesian people, because it was part of the effort to achieve independence in the pharmaceutical sector. She expressed the hope that producing the vaccine locally would encourage the country’s pharmaceutical industry to continue to innovate in producing the latest vaccine technology for competing at the global level.
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)
