BANGKOK: Thailand, the first country outside China to report Covid-19 cases, expects to have its own vaccine for the deadly virus by next year.
Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said the locally developed vaccine using the messenger RNA method has shown promising results after successful tests done on mice.
“The team is expected to begin the test on monkeys next week. The vaccine is expected to be available by next year.
“Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan o-cha has instructed the relevant agencies to speed up the process … hopefully, Thailand can be one of the first countries with a vaccine ready for use,” he said at Covid-19 daily briefing here today.
The vaccine has been jointly developed by Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development, the National Vaccine Institute and the Department of Medical Sciences.
To date, more than 100 potential vaccines for Covid-19 have been developed worldwide with Thailand joining the race to develop its own vaccine as well.
Meanwhile, Thaweesilp said Thailand continued to record single-digit new cases and no fatalities over the last 24 hours bringing the tally to 3,034 cases with the death toll remaining at 56.
He said the only case recorded over the last 24 hours involves a 45-year-old Thai chef who returned from Bahrain.
“Thailand has conducted 328, 073 Covid-19 tests (as of May 15) at 167 laboratories nationwide,” he said.
To date, 2,888 patients have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals while 90 remain warded, he added. – May 20, 2020, Bernama
