Health Ministry to test efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines over next 2 months

Thailand’s Public Health Ministry says it will test the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines in those who have received them, to determine if vaccinated people build immunity to the virus. The Department of Medical Services says it will team up with the medical faculties of top universities and expects to have results within 2 months.

Somsak Akksilp from the DMS says those results will determine what Thailand’s vaccination policy looks like over the next year. According to a Bangkok Post report, the DMS chief says vaccines can’t guarantee lifelong protection against infection and more information is needed on their efficacy among the Thai population.

“This will be an important factor concerning our policy for the next year as we look for a vaccine which is appropriate for Thais. The study of vaccine efficiency will be done by the ministry team and its partners and will concern people who received the vaccine from both the Sinovac and AstraZeneca companies. We have information on its efficiency from abroad, but we don’t have such information in our hands regarding Thais. We do need to verify the vaccine’s efficiency so we can have an appropriate vaccine for the next year.”

Among the universities participating in the project, the faculty of medicine at Chulalongkorn will study immunity levels in members of the public who have been vaccinated. A similar study will take place on medical staff at the faculty of medicine at Mahidol University at Siriraj Hospital. A further study will take place with the participation of kidney disease patients at Mahidol’s faculty of medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital. The DMS also plans to research efficacy among vaccinated cancer patients.

At least 53,842 people have now received their first dose of either the Chinese Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccines. The highest number of vaccinations has been carried out in the central provinces of Bangkok and Samut Sakhon, due to the resurgence of the virus in those areas late last year.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post