Indonesia has started testing the Chinese vaccine against the coronavirus

Today, Indonesia began testing the vaccine for the coronavirus developed by the Sinovac Biotech laboratory on 1.600 volunteers.

Named Koronavak (Coronavac), it is one of the few vaccines in the last phase of clinical trials before receiving definitive approval for use. Testing of the vaccine is scheduled to last until February.

The vaccine is simultaneously being tested on 9.000 volunteers in Brazil, the second hardest hit country by the coronavirus pandemic after the USA.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country on the planet, facing an increase in the number of cases of covid-19, which has already infected over 127.000 people and more than 5.700 have died.

The scale of the epidemic could be higher since the rate of testing for the coronavirus is weak in the South Asian country.

The governor of Indonesia's most populous West Java province is one of 1.620 people scheduled to take part in clinical trials of the vaccine scheduled to last until February.

If, after those trials, the vaccine proves to be safe and effective, the Indonesian authorities plan to produce a large number of doses for the large archipelago of 270 million inhabitants.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo today toured a factory in the city of Bandung in the center of the island of Java, run by the state-run pharmaceutical company Bio Farma, which is to produce the vaccine.

"I emphasize once again that the threat of Covid-19 will not end until all Indonesians are vaccinated," Widodo said before leaving for the visit.