By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, Aug 25 (NNN-Bernama) — Thailand’s home-grown messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine called ChulaCov19 is expected to be available by the end of this year or early next year.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ deputy spokesman Natapanu Nopakun said the vaccine candidate, developed by Chulalongkorn University, is at the third phase of clinical trials and has made significant progress.
“If proven successful, Thailand could possibly be first in ASEAN to produce COVID-19 vaccine.
“The (Chulalongkorn University) research team is hoping that by the end of this year or early next year, the country will be able to start producing its own doses of an effective vaccine,” he said at the COVID-19 daily briefing here Wednesday.
ChulaCov19 was designed and developed by a team of Thai researchers working collaboratively with Pennsylvania University’s Professor Drew Weissman, a renowned physician-scientist.
Besides ChulaCov19, Thailand is set to start human trials on its homegrown plant-based COVID-19 vaccine next month (September) and is expected to be ready next year. The sub-unit vaccine is developed by Chulalongkorn University’s Vaccine Research Centre and Baiya Phytopharm Co. Ltd. (Baiya Phytopharm).
Meanwhile, Thailand’s COVID-19 death toll has breached the 10,000 mark today as 297 people succumbed to the virus over the last 24 hours.
To date, a total of 10,085 people lost their lives to COVID-19 since the pandemic started in January last year.
Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) assistant spokesperson Dr Apisamai Srirangsan said the new fatalities involved 151 men and 146 women aged between 17 and 104 years old, including five Myanmar nationals and one Chinese.
“The fatality rate in Thailand stood at 0.91 per cent now,” she said.
Over the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 18,417 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections in the kingdom to 1,102,368.
— NNN-BERNAMA