The fourth meeting of the National Vaccine Committee (NVC) in 2021, presided over by Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, and Dr. Satit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of Public Health, was held on August 19, 2021.
Mr. Anutin explained that Thailand has made progress in Covid-19 vaccine development.
“A protein subunit type, developed by Baiya Phytopharm Co., Ltd. and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, is entering the first phase of human trial,” he said. “Secondly, an mRNA vaccine is entering the second phase of human trial, namely ChulaCov19, developed by the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University. Thirdly, HXP–GPOVac, the novel design works by inducing the body to defend against Covid-19 by utilising another virus, inactivated Newcastle disease virus (NDV) contained of spike protein developed by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) which is entering the phase 2 trial. Lastly, Covigen, a DNA type vaccine developed by Bionet-Asia Co., Ltd., is under testing for efficacy and safety in laboratory animals. This is truly an advancement of science and public health by Thailand, which is fully supported by the Ministry of Public Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Vaccine Institute.”
“Concerning vaccine imports, Thailand has ordered several platforms of Covid-19 vaccines for the Thai population. The government has approved to initially purchase 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as undertaken by the Department of Disease Control, and subsequently secure an additional 10 million doses, bringing the total to 30 million doses. Delivery will be started by end of September 2021 onward.”
Dr. Nakorn Premsri, Director of the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) also commented.
“The draft National Vaccine Security Policy and Strategy for 2023-2027, together with comprehensive implementation activities and their budget plans, has been approved by the NVC, and will be proposed to the Cabinet for seeking their adoption. The draft will serve as a long-term action plan for relevant agencies, throughout research and development, quality assurance, production, and quality control to administration, procurement, distribution, and immunisation. The framework will cover the entire vaccine management system. As for the operation, stakeholder opinions whether from public and private sectors were taken into consideration in the preparation and analysis of the proposal by the NVI. This national strategic plan will be used as the framework by all stakeholders for annual budget preparation and requests.”
Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), further revealed that, “Another 10 million doses of vaccination Covid-19 vaccines is planned in September. To further control the outbreak in different areas, priority is given to the elderly, patients in seven chronic disease groups, and pregnant women who are 12 weeks or more.”