On 16 August 2021, Professor Suttipong Wacharasindhu, M.D., Assistant Secretary General and Director of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Professor Kiat Raxrungtham, M.D., Director of ChulaCov19 Vaccine Development Project, Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Vaccine Research Development, and
Mr. Nakorn Premsri, M.D., Director of National Vaccine Institute (NVI), together announced the progress of ChulaCov19 vaccine test with volunteers in the first phase of the trial. The results showed that volunteers had as high immunity from ChulaCov19 as Pfizer. The ChulaCov19 vaccine has success in suppressing four COVID-19 variants, and can also stimulate the T-Cell immunity more than 80% which can control and eliminate the viruses in a patient’s cells. In this case, harmful side effects are not found. The ChulaCov19 vaccine is being prepared for the next phase of testing in volunteers, and the Thai people are expected to get vaccinated by this vaccine around April 2022 at the earliest.
The COVID-19 vaccine development in Thailand is a challenge in terms of research, technology, and process within a timeframe. If the mRNA vaccine development is successful, it can be a future solution for combating new infectious diseases and various types of cancer.
