Older volunteers wanted for trials of Chulalongkorn University mRNA vaccine
The Faculty of Medicine at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University has put out a call for healthy volunteers to take part in trials of its Covid-19 mRNA vaccine. Nation Thailand reports that participants need to be between the ages of 56 and 75 with no underlying health conditions. They must also never have contracted Covid-19 or been vaccinated against the virus. Eligible volunteers will be invited to an initial screening between August 3 and 10, with trials beginning at the end of this month.
According to the Nation Thailand report, the vaccine, called ChulaCov19, uses mRNA technology and is produced from tiny pieces of Covid-19’s genetic material. When administered to the human body through vaccination, the immune system is prompted to build a spike protein, which provokes an immune response to the virus.
On June 14, researchers began the first trials of the vaccine, using 2 groups of 72 people. There were 36 participants between the ages of 18 and 55 in the first group, while the second had 36 people between the ages of 65 to 75.
While mRNA vaccines have been widely deployed in other countries, particularly in Europe and the US, Thailand has mainly relied on more traditional vaccine technology, such as that used in the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines. However, with the ongoing spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant, mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna are widely seen as more effective.
Last Friday, Thailand took delivery of 1.5 million Pfizer doses, donated by the US government. Most of the doses will go to frontline healthcare workers in Bangkok and other high-risk provinces, as well as the elderly, people with underlying health conditions, women who are over 12 weeks pregnant, and children over the age of 12.
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SOURCE: Nation Thailand
