Bangkok – The government has affirmed its commitment to eliminating rabies and has assured the general public there is enough vaccine available.
In a hearing held by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), lawmaker Wallop Tangkananurak asked Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Luck Wajananawat about the government’s rabies prevention plan, the quantity of available vaccines, and its policy to support domestic vaccine production.
Luck said his agency has been tackling rabies since the outbreak in 1992 and has since reduced the rate of contraction. Due to a new outbreak in 2016-17, the government has put in place a strategy for 2017-20 in accordance with Thailand’s shared goals with the World Health Organization to eliminate rabies by 2020.
Measures include procuring one million doses of rabies vaccines to meet the government’s goal of inoculating dogs across the country. The deputy minister affirmed that there is enough vaccine and expressed confidence the country will be able to meet its goals.
Furthermore, the ministry has tasked the Department of Livestock Development with studying the feasibility of domestically producing the vaccine and will be able to reach a conclusion by September.
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