SOEs Minister Forecasts Merah Putih Vaccine Completed in 2022
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Markus Wisnu Murti
Senin, 8 Februari 2021 16:16 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir on Monday said his ministry along with the Research and Technology Ministry, the Health Ministry, and other institutions are working on all cylinders to push the research of Indonesia’s home-grown "Merah Putih vaccine."
He predicted that once the state pharmaceutical firm Bio Farma received the vaccine seed, the country may be able to actually create the vaccine in the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Hopefully the last clinical trials can be completed by the third quarter of 2022, which is why by the fourth quarter we may be able to have the Merah Putih,” said Erick Thohir in the launch of the SOEs Plasma program in a virtual event today.
The program itself, according to Erick Thohir, was basically a plasma donor program conducted in partnership with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) that aimed at collecting the blood plasma of COVID-19 survivors that came from employees and relatives of the employees who work at State-owned Enterprises across the nation.
“This program is launched to encourage SOEs employees and their relatives who had been infected by COVID-19 to help save COVID-19 patients,” said the minister.
Read: Health Minister: Indonesia Lucky to Be Early Vaccine Recipient
MUHAMMAD HENDARTYO
