JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia is in talks with several African countries, including Nigeria, to export and donate its homemade COVID-19 vaccine, its developer said on Friday, after becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to approve a domestically developed COVID shot. Indonesian approval for the shot, the detailed trial data of which has yet to be announced and is primarily based on coroanvirus variants preceding Omicron, underscores progress in vaccine research and in reducing reliance on foreign technology.
“With Indovac … it’s Indonesia’s chance to donate,” Honesti Basyir, CEO of state-owned Bio Farma, told Reuters, referring to the protein-recombinant COVID vaccine that was approved by the drug regulator, BPOM, last month.
Bio Farma said it had also submitted documents to the World Health Organization for an emergency use listing (EUL) approval for IndoVac, which would allow it to be donated through organisations such as the global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX. In the meantime, Indonesia can export the vaccine. “It doesn’t close the possibility of us exporting, as long as BPOM’s approval can be accepted by local regulators,” Honesti said, though adding that the priority was to vaccinate Indonesians first.