The Indonesian food and drugs agency (BPOM) has approved a China-developed mRNA COVID-19 vaccine by granting it an Emergency Use Approval (EUA) for people aged 18 and above, according to its press release on Friday.

The shot, previously known as ARCoV, was jointly developed by the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Suzhou Abogen Biosciences and Yunnan-based Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd.    

Rebranded as AWcorna, the vaccine encodes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain and is the first authorization for China's COVID-19 vaccine using the novel mRNA technology, which Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna also used in theirs.

What's worth noticing is that the AWcorna vaccines can be stored at 2 to 8 degree Celsius, which is convenient for distribution and storage, the release noted.

The EUA of AWcorna adds an alternative COVID-19 vaccine to "be used in the COVID-19 vaccination program for adults aged 18 years and over," said the Head of BPOM RI, Penny K. Lukito while delivering a press statement on Friday.

The vaccine will also be produced in Indonesia through a patent transfer process, according to Lukito.

It has also obtained a halal certificate, which would make the vaccine permissible under Islam, Lukito added.

The vaccine's phase-1 trial, which was conducted in 2020 at a hospital in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, has been shown to be safe, well-tolerated and effective in early-stage human trials, according to a study published on Tuesday in the Lancet Microbe journal.

Read more: Trials show China's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine safe, effective: Lancet