Vaccine Development and Fund Disbursement Need to be Accelerated

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

TAn officer of the clinical trial research team for the Covid-19 vaccine candidate simulates a rapid test examination at the School of Medicine, Padjadjaran University, Bandung city, West Java, Thursday (6/8/2020). The clinical trial of a vaccine produced by Sinovac, China, will begin on Tuesday (11/8/2020).

Vaccine development and drug procurement should be further encouraged to help cope with Covid-19 transmission. In addition, the budget disbursement for health management and the national economic recovery program should be also accelerated.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The development of vaccines and drug procurement related to Covid-19 should be further encouraged. However, such activities should strictly follow testing procedures to ensure the safety and security of the public.

The deputy for supervision of traditional medicines, health supplements, cosmetics of foods at the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Mayagustina Andarini, said in Jakarta on Monday there were at least 11 natural immunomodulators or immune-enhancing substances for Covid-19 patients being developed in Indonesia. These products are still under testing with BPOM supervision.

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"The BPOM has not approved claims that certain herbal medicines can cure Covid-19 patients. A drug must go through a series of tests including clinical trials to prove its effectiveness. All of the products which have been registered, are still in under testing process, " she said.

This product is developed by researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

One of the immunomodulator products under BPOM supervision and ready for clinical trial related to Covid-19 is guava leaf extraction developed by the National Research and Innovation Agency in cooperation with the IPB University and PT SOHO. The testing is being carried out on Covid-19 patients at the Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital and Persahabatan Hospital , Jakarta. Other products that are currently under tests are ethanolic leaf and seed extract of Cassia alata and dendrophthoe pentandra methanol extract as alternative drugs for Covid-19 infection. This product is developed by researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

Also read: Reinforcing Fort Against Covid-19

Apart from developing vaccines and drugs, the handling of the Covid-19 cases is also being intensified amid the spike of new cases in the country. This includes contact tracing, examination and treatment of Covid-19 patients, especially in areas with high transmission rates.

KOMPAS/TATANG MULYANA SINAGA

An officer of the clinical trial research team for the Covid-19 vaccine candidate simulates a rapid test examination on a volunteer at the School of Medicine, Padjadjaran University, Bandung city, West Java, Thursday (6/8/2020). The clinical trial of a vaccine produced by Sinovac, China, will begin on Tuesday (11/8/2020).

Dewi Nur Aisyah, part of the expert team of the Covid-19 Handling Task Force, said that examinations carried out to check the disease caused by the novel coronavirus were also intensified in a number of areas. At present, the transmission rate in Indonesia remains high because not all of the people infected with the disease can be detected due to the lack of contact tracking. The increase in cases can also occur due to the emergence of new transmission clusters.

"For this reason, the control of Covid-19 transmission needs to be further strengthened, especially in areas with many cases," she said.

Aalso read: Transmission Expands, Patient Number Increases

Dewi emphasized that the people’s high mobility could lead to a further increase in the Covid-19 transmission. Therefore, the people who leave the house must follow the health protocol to prevent from being infected with the disease.

Encourage spending

The government has also accelerated the disbursement of the budget for handling of Covid-19 in the health sector and the National Economic Recovery (PEN) program, which reaches a total of Rp 695.2 trillion. As of August 6, 2020, about Rp 7.14 trillion or 8.15 percent of the total funds of Rp 87.55 trillion allocated for health sector has been disbursed.

STEVE PARSONS / POOL / AFP

Britain\'s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (C), wearing PPE (personal protective equipment), of a face mask or covering, eye protection and an overall, as a precautionary measure against spreading COVID-19, meets scientists during a visit to the manufacturing laboratory where a vaccine against the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been produced at the Oxford Vaccine Group\'s facility at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, west of London on June 24, 2020, during a visit to learn more about their work to establish a viable vaccine against coronavirus.

The realization of the funds for social assistance has reached Rp 86.45 trillion (42.4 percent), while that for ministries / agencies and local governments has reached Rp. 8.6 trillion (8.1 percent), stimulus funds for micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) Rp 32.5 trillion (26.3 percent), and business incentives Rp 16.6 trillion (13.8 percent). Meanwhile, none of the budget for corporate financing which worth Rp 53.57 trillion has been disbursed.

The government has allocated Rp 28.83 trillion for the 13th salary and pension payments.

The government also pays the 13th salary for civil servant servants, and non-civil servant employees who work in government agencies, members of TNI (military) and National Police and 13th pension payment for retirees. The government has allocated Rp 28.83 trillion for the 13th salary and pension payments. As of Monday, Rp 13.57 trillion of the total has been disbursed.

"The policy to pay the 13th salary for all echelon I-IV officials and other government officials is expected to be able to increase household consumption which is currently declining. They are classified as the upper middle class whose contribution to gross domestic product is relatively large, ”said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

Budi Gunadi Sadikin, the head of the National Economic Recovery and Transformation Task Force, explained that the social safety net program that had been implemented by the government consisted of the Family Hope Program, Basic Food Cards and Preemployment Cards. The government estimates that such social assistance programs have reached 29 million families or 120 million people with total budget of Rp 50 trillion.

AFP/NICOLAS ASFOURI

In this file photo taken on April 29, 2020, an engineer looks at monkey kidney cells as he makes a test on an experimental vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus inside the Cells Culture Room laboratory at the Sinovac Biotech facilities in Beijing. - Sinovac Biotech is conducting one of the five clinical trials of potential vaccines that have been authorised in China. China would make any coronavirus vaccine it developed a "global public good" once it was put into use, President Xi Jinping told the World Health Assembly on May 18, 2020.

Bank Permata economist Josua Pardede said the middle-income bracket in Indonesia played a key role in the economy as their contribution to GDP reached about 45 percent. "The upper middle class must be encouraged and ensured about the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic," he said.

Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Teten Masduki said the digitalization of the country’s MSMEs was also needed to ensure they could reach a wider market, including the upper middle class. "We have also prepared a special page for MSME products in the e-catalog of the Government Procurement Policy Agency to facilitate the procurement of goods from small businesses," he said. (TAN/KRN/AGE/INA/ERK/SHR/DIM)