Indonesia grants emergency use nod to Walvax Biotechnology mRNA COVID vaccine AWcorna
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Jakarta: Indonesia said it has granted emergency use approval to an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Chinese company, becoming the first country, ahead of even China, to do so.
Indonesia's food and drugs agency (BPOM) 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.
The approval comes as somewhat of a surprise as Walvax, which has been conducting large late-stage trials of the vaccine in several countries including Indonesia, Mexico and China, has yet to publish efficacy readings that would show how well it can reduce the risk of COVID cases and deaths.
Penny Lukito, head of the agency, told reporters the vaccine, now known as AWcorna, was 83.58% effective against wild-type coronavirus strains considered common and normal, though she added that its efficacy drops to 71.17% for the highly contagious Omicron variant.
She did not provide details of the data and did not respond to Reuters queries seeking further comment.
Walvax declined to comment. Share reaction for the Chinese company was muted, with the stock rising just 0.5%.
Read also: AstraZeneca, Merck get Chinese nod for Lynparza to treat ovarian cancer
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