State Minister Pins Hope in Homegrown Merah Putih Vaccine
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11 November 2020 08:47 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Research and Technology Minister, who also leads the National Research Agency (BRIN), Bambang Brodjonegoro, said the ‘Merah Putih’ vaccine that is currently being developed will pose as a symbol of the country’s independence.
“With the existence of the Merah Putih vaccine, apart from accelerating the recovery it also saves a lot from purchasing overseas vaccines that are surely much pricier,” said the Minister in a webinar held on Tuesday, November 10.
Apart from the economic advantage that could be gained from developing an ‘inhouse’ vaccine, he is confident that it could also be safer and potent compared to vaccines developed overseas as it is developed from viruses circulating locally.
The Merah Putih vaccine is being jointly developed by six institutions including the Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Gadjah Mada University, University of Indonesia, Airlangga University, and Bandung Institute of Technology.
Bambang, in the virtual seminar, expressed his intention to drive Indonesia out of being a resource-driven economy to an innovation-driven economy.
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