Researchers in Thailand are planning to start testing a possible vaccine for the new coronavirus in humans in November and are preparing 10.000 doses, a senior official said today, adding that their goal is a vaccine that could be ready for use by the end of the year. of next year.
Following the positive results of the tests in primary mammals, the next step is to prepare doses of the vaccine for human testing, said the director of the vaccine development program at Sulawesi University in Bangkok.
For the Covid-19 there are no approved vaccines. However, humans are being tested worldwide for 19 experimental vaccines. China leads the race with an experimental vaccine from Sinovac Biotech Ltd.
A first plant in Thailand is expected to complete production of vaccines in October and send them to a second plant, which is expected to complete its work by November, Kiat said in a press conference today.
Initially there was a goal to test these experimental vaccines in September, but as he noted, it will not be possible to produce a sufficient quantity by then.
Facilities in San Diego and Vancouver will then produce 10.000 doses of the vaccine for 5.000 people. The first group, aged 18 to 60, will receive different doses of the vaccine, Kiat said.
Volunteers will not be accepted into these tests "until we get approval from the Food and Drug Administration of Thailand and an ethics committee," he added.
The Thai company BioNet-Asia is preparing its facilities for large-scale production if the vaccine tests prove successful, he added.
"If all goes according to plan, the vaccine will be ready for Thailand in the third or fourth quarter of next year," Kiat said.
Thailand has so far recorded a total of 3.217 confirmed cases of new coronavirus - no local transmission for more than a month - and 58 deaths from Covid-19.
Source: Kathimerini