Indonesia's bid to develop its own coronavirus vaccines either is marred with questionable trials backed by politicians or government plans to dissolve the research ministry that has helmed the country's vaccine consortium.

As part of its long-term strategy for self-sufficiency, the Research and Technology Ministry formed a vaccine consortium involving six institutions to develop the so-called Merah Putih vaccine, named after the country's flag colors. All of them are still conducting laboratory tests.

Separately, former health minister Terawan Agus Putranto initiated the development of another candidate vaccine last year after he issued a ministerial decree to appoint the Health Ministry as a sponsor, shortly before he was replaced as health minister. Other sponsors are American biotechnology firm AIVITA Biomedical and Indonesian pharmaceutical company PT Rama Emerald Multi Sukses.

Politicians continue to back Terawan's experimental vaccine, dubbed Nusantara (archipelago) vaccine, by signing up as clinical trial volunteers despite red alerts from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

Scores of politicians and lawmakers, some of whom had previously demanded that the BPOM allow the Nusantara's mid-stage clinical trials to proceed, had their blood taken for research on the candidate vaccine at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, which used to be led by Terawan prior to his appointment as minister. The candidate vaccine employs a unique mechanism. It is tailored to each recipient through the use of their own antigen-presenting dendritic cells.

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