The dean of Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital has made an annoucement stressing that safety is the key factor in consideration of COVID-19 vaccines, with the need for efficient management to ensure all people have access.
Prof Dr Prasit Watanapa, Mahidol University’s Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, said in an annoucement that no vaccine candidates can provide 100% protection against an infection, but vaccines are generally considered for approval if their rate of effectiveness is at least at 50%, with any side effects taken into consideration.
He said safety is a priority in the consideration of vaccine approvals to ensure vaccine recipients don’t develop any fatal complications, while stressing that a vaccine roll out will only be effective as a form of disease control with good management and easy access for all people.
On a recent report on 23 deaths among 25,000 vaccine recipients in a foreign country, Dr Prasit said this is a concerning number, but further investigations are still needed to determine whether those fatal complications were actully related to the vaccine administered.
The Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said today that Thailand is currently not receiving deliveries of the AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is scheduled to start in June.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been filed for emergency approval in Thailand with the Food and Drugs Administration. The vaccine will be produced locally by Siam Bioscience for local use and export.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister said the government is now working to procure vaccines from multiple sources without preferential treatment for any particular manufacturer, while all COVID-19 vaccines at this point will need to be filed for emergency usage approval only.
He said it is the duty of the government to find vaccines for the people, however private firms are welcome to make their own orders from manufacturers, subject to approval by the Food and Drugs Administration. (NNT)
