4 Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Brands to Be Used in Non-subsidized Vaccinations

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Four brands of the COVID-19 vaccine will reportedly be used in the independently-purchased vaccination program, viz. Sinopharm, Moderna, Sputnik, and Johnson & Johnson. The vaccines were expected to arrive in mid-March. 

“Yes, that's right,” confirmed the Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Rosan Roeslani, via a text message today, March 1.

The brands are different from those used for the state-funded vaccination. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the government used Sinovac from China, AstraZeneca from England, Pfizer from Germany-U.S., and Novavax from the U.S.

He explained that this was aimed at preventing disruption in the distribution of the vaccines used by the government as regulated in Article 7 (4) of the Health Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2021.

“The brands must not be the same so that there is no competition for the supply,” said Budi yesterday.

For the non-subsidized vaccinations, state-pharmaceutical giant PT Bio Farma would determine the producers and set the price, pending meetings with potential producers.

“The government has not been able to determine the price ceiling and floor of the COVID-19 vaccines yet. If they have been submitted [to Bio Farma], we will review them and determine the prices,” said Budi.

Read: Bio Pharma Seeks to Partner with Sinopharm, Moderna for Private Vaccinations

DEWI NURITA