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Homegrown vaccines: Remarkable efforts of Southeast Asian countries

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(VOVWORLD) - Delta variant is a shared challenge of the world and most Southeast Asian countries. In addition to imported or sponsored vaccines, Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam are addressing the vaccination problem by speeding up domestic research and development of vaccines.

Homegrown vaccines: Remarkable efforts of Southeast Asian countries - ảnh 1A technician at work at the Chula Vaccine Research Center of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.Credit: Diego Azubel/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Thailand is currently researching and developing three vaccines on its own. The first COVID-19 vaccine, ChulaCov19, began to be tested on humans from mid-June. If human trials show good results, the vaccine can be mass-produced by mid next year. Professor Kiat Ruxrungtham, an expert from Chulalongkorn University and Head of the ChulaCov19 development team, said ChulaCov19 will be available on the market at the earliest in the first quarter or the third quarter of next year at the latest.

The next two vaccines are being prepared by Thailand for the trial phase on volunteers in August, with the hope that the Thais will have more vaccine options from next year. The Southeast Asian country also plans to begin clinical trials of two nasal spray COVID-19 vaccines later this year, after tests in mice yielded positive results. If clinical trials go well, Thailand aims to mass produce the spray vaccine by mid-2022.

In Indonesia, the Southeast Asian country hardest hit by the pandemic, the Merah Putih vaccine, a collaborative project between six domestic research institutes, could complete clinical trials by the end of this year and start mass production early next year. Merah Putih was sent to PT Bio Farma, Southeast Asia's largest vaccine producer, for clinical trials. The company has prepared production facilities with a maximum capacity of 250 million doses per year.

Vietnam has determined that self-reliance of vaccines is a long-term solution. Right from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese Government has directed research, technology transfer and production of vaccines. Vietnam has to date had two vaccine candidates in phase 2-3 clinical trials, namely NanoCovax and Covivac.

The NanoCovax vaccine developed by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company and the Military Medical Academy since May 2020, is being in phase 3 of clinical trials. After the first two phases, the test results show the vaccine generates high immune response in 100% of volunteers. The seroconversion rate is over 99%.

The Covivac vaccine, developed by the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), has progressed into phase 2 of clinical trials.

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