Press Statement of President of the Republic of Indonesia on Procedures and Rules for Domestic COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Friday, 12 March 2021, at Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java Province

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Innovation is the key to the progress of a state and Indonesia is no exception. To that end, we will certainly always support innovations made by our innovators.

Amid the current pandemic, we certainly support R&D, be it related to medicine or vaccine in order to create self-sufficiency in the pharmaceutical sector, as well as to speed up access to vaccine availability amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vaccines that are currently being developed in the country are the Red and White vaccine and the Nusantara vaccine, which we must continue to support. However, in order to produce safe, efficacious and quality medicinal products and vaccines, they must also comply with scientific principles and clinical trials conducted according to procedures that are applicable, open and transparent, and involve many experts.

These requirements and stages are of significant importance to prove that the process of producing vaccines highly puts the element of precaution above everything and can be scientifically accounted for so that the resulting vaccine is safe and effective for use.

Once we pass all the stages, we will speed up production to meet domestic demand for vaccines.

That concludes my remarks.

I thank you.