Behind the Controversial Local Experiments of COVID-19 Drugs
Summary
- The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) stated that the clinical trial of the Covid-19 drug developed by the Universitas Airlangga (Unair) research team together with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and the Indonesian Army was not yet valid. Many things need to be improved for the drug to get a distribution permit.
- Even though the pandemic has escalated, the Indonesian government still does not want to re-implement social restrictions for fear of its impact on the economy. For this reason, presenting COVID-19 vaccines and drugs is the only option currently being pursued.
- The broader role played by the Indonesian Army and the State Intelligence Agency, to the point of having to take care of the COVID-19 drug, is actually driven more by the proactive attitude of the two leaders, namely Army Chief of Staff General Andika Perkasa and Head of BIN General Police (Ret) Budi Gunawan.