JAKARTA 

The clinical trial team for the COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia will open registration for volunteers, who want to participate as research subjects.

Kusnandi Rusmil, the coordinator of the Bio Farma-Sinovac team, said the Phase III of clinical trial will involve 1,620 participants aged 18-59 years.

During the meeting with President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace on Tuesday, he was asked to speed up clinical trials within three months.

However, he said the clinical trials must be carried out carefully and in accordance with protocols from the World Health Organization (WHO).

As many as 2,400 prospective COVID-19 vaccine samples will undergo the trial next month.

A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech arrived in Indonesia on Sunday and it has been delivered to state-owned pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma for the trial.

Honesti Basyir, director of PT Bio Farma, said it would take approximately six months to finish the trial and it will be ready for domestic use by as soon as early next year.

“It is anticipated that the preliminary result of this Phase III clinical trial can be submitted for emergency use authorization by the BPOM [Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency] by the first quarter of 2021,” he added.