Thailand to receive new LAAB Covid vaccine by end of the month

Photo via อรรณนพ ชาญด้วยกิจ

Thailand today signed an agreement to receive its first batch of Long-Acting Antibody doses at the end of this month.

The Thai Deputy PM, and Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, signed an agreement with AstraZeneca Country President, James Teague, to receive 257,500 doses of LAAB for people who suffer from immunodeficiency, to reduce of risk of becoming gravely ill if infected with COVID-19.

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Anutin said the new shot was needed because a number of vaccinated Thai residents are still at risk because are unable to generate antibodies properly. Some people can generate antibodies but the process is too slow, e.g., chronic renal failure patients, people under organ transplantation, and those who have to take immunosuppressive drugs.

Anutin added that Thailand loses one chronic renal failure patient every day to Covid. So, the Public Health Ministry imported the LAAB to help protect them. The antibody combination should reduce the risk of severe symptoms and death.

Anutin explained that the acquisition of the LAAB medication does not require any additional budget, because the new contract will amend the previous AstraZeneca vaccine procurement contract, replacing some of the vaccines to be supplied with LAAB medication.

LAAB is a long-acting antibody combination that includes 150 milligrams of Tixagemab and 150 milligrams of Cilgavimab. The combination has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, and Thailand’s FDA on the condition that the medication must be used on people whose immune systems are compromised, are at least 12 years old, and weigh no less than 40 kilogrammes.

The antibody combination would be given every 6 months. According to the report, LAAB effectively reduces Covid infection by 83%.

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SOURCE: Thai News Agency

Covid-19 NewsThailand News

Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.

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