TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The former head of the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (LBM), Amin Soebandrio, said the production of the Merah Putih COVID-19 vaccine was delayed by one year from the plan. “We are experiencing a setback. Our target is early 2023, a year from now,” Amin told Tempo on Tuesday, January 25.

Eijkman, which has recently merged into the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), is one of the leading and fastest-growing institutions in the development of the homegrown vaccine against coronavirus infection. The agency initially pursued obtaining an emergency use authorization (EUA) in September 2022.

Amin, who is now part of the research team at the Eijkman Center for Molecular Biology Research (PRBM) at BRIN, explained that the delay was attributable to the financing and the change in human resources.

“Some of them (researchers) have assignments abroad and there are changes in the system that makes us try hard to adjust,” Amin remarked.

The Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Indonesia’s Medical Faculty (FKUI) added that facilities also affected the speed of work. “Based on its statement, BRIN will give full support but we still have to clarify the mechanism,” Amin added.

Seven teams joining the Merah Putih Vaccine development are PRBM BRIN, Bandung Insitute of Technology (ITB), two teams from the University of Indonesia, Padjadjaran University, LIPI, and a team from Airlangga University.

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MOH KHORY ALFARIZI