THE Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) has started human trials of a domestically developed Covid-19 vaccine and expects to deploy it next year, NNT said today (March 23, 2021)
The trials are being conducted in cooperation with Mahidol University’s Faculty of Tropical Medicine by delivering shots to 18 volunteers on Monday.
The home-grown vaccine candidate is being developed by the GPO, with Mahidol University’s Tropical Medicine Department and an American non-profit organization and uses an inactivated virus to trigger immunity.
Mahidol University acting President Prof. Bangjong Mahaisavariya said 460 volunteers would be accepted for the human trials, 210 of whom would be used in the first phase. Phase two is expected to begin in July, with results by yearend.
Meanwhile the Public Health Ministry has assured that there are enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine for people in Phuket and Surat Thani’s Samui Island to immunize local people before tourists return, NNT said today (March 23).
Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said 800,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine, which had arrived in Thailand on Saturday, would be distributed to important areas in Phuket and Samui Island at 100,000 doses and 50,000 doses, respectively.
He added that the government must distribute the vaccine in economic or tourism hubs first in order to boost Thailand’s economy.
Anutin also insisted that there was enough vaccine to deal with the present situation in Thailand.
