Jakarta, April 30: Indonesia's food and drug authority BPOM has issued an emergency use authorisation (EUA) for the Covid-19 vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, an official source said on Friday.

Chief of BPOM Penny Lukito made the announcement, saying the issuance of the EUA was based on the third phase of clinical trials in the United Arab Emirates and other countries, the Xinhua news agency reported. COVID-19 Medical Equipment Being Sourced from China, Informs Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

Indonesia would use the Sinopharm vaccine for a mutual vaccination scheme locally known as "Gotong Royong", where companies or legal entities can arrange the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for their employees for free, to help the country achieve herd immunity faster.

Previously, Indonesia had approved the emergency use for three other brands of Covid-19 vaccines, namely the CoronaVac produced by the Chinese company Sinovac, the Covid-19 vaccine produced by the state-company PT Bio Farma in collaboration with Sinovac, and the AstraZeneca vaccine.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2021 12:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).