REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUTA - A State-owned vaccine producer, PT Bio Farma, prioritized the supply of vaccines for domestic needs for helping in the success of the national immunization program, the corporate secretary said. "We will export vaccines only after we meet domestic demand," PT Bio Farma corporate secretary, Rahman Rustan said on Wednesday.
According to him, the company`s vaccines have been provided to fulfil the demand of basic immunization of Indonesian citizens. "It is estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the company`s turnover originates from export earnings to 117 countries, but we need to give priority to fulfilling domestic demand," he noted.
He informed that the basic immunization program covered vaccines for tetanus, hepatitis B and diphtheria with 1.7 billion dosages per year for the national immunization program. Production of vaccines is needed to meet supplies for five million babies per year on an average, 25 million school-going children and 12 million childbearing women, according to Rustan.
In addition, three other products still haven't been submitted to the World Health Organization (WHO) for prequalification because they are desperately needed in the country. Amongst them is a vaccine for the prevention of tuberculosis.
"So far, 11 PT Bio Farma vaccines have obtained prequalification remarks under the supervision of the WHO," Rustan added.
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