Hundreds of residents queue to get a booster shot vaccine for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Bekasi, Indonesia on Feb 5, 2022. (REZAS / AFP)
JAKARTA/BEIJING – Indonesia said it has granted emergency use approval to an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company.
Indonesia's food and drugs agency greenlighted the use of Walvax Biotechnology's mRNA vaccine, which has been in development for more than two years and targets the original strain of the coronavirus.
Indonesia also uses mRNA COVID vaccines made by Pfizer -BioNTech and Moderna, but the AWcorna shot has a longer shelf life, remaining stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius for at least six months, according to its researchers
However, Walvax has yet to publish efficacy readings for its vaccine, now known as AWcorna, from its large late-stage trial which would show how well it can reduce the risk of COVID cases and deaths from the disease.
It was not immediately clear how widely the newly approved shot will be used in Indonesia, where more than 63 percent of its population is fully vaccinated.
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Indonesia also uses mRNA COVID vaccines made by Pfizer -BioNTech and Moderna, but the AWcorna shot has a longer shelf life, remaining stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius for at least six months, according to its researchers.
Walvax and a co-developer of the vaccine, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, are also separately working on their own mRNA candidates that target coronavirus variants.
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