SARABURI (THAILAND) – Thai scientists on Monday administered a second dose of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine to monkeys. If the response is positive, it will enable them to begin clinical trials in humans as early as October.
The Thai vaccine is one of the 100 being worked on around the world.
Thirteen monkeys were immunised on Monday and the next two weeks will be critical in determining whether researchers can proceed with further tests.
“We’re going to analyse the immune response once again. If the immune response is very, very high, then this is a good one,” said Kiat Ruxrungtham, lead researcher of the COVID-19 vaccine development programme at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.
The government is supporting the trials and hopes it can have a cost-effective vaccine manufactured domestically and ready for next year.
The monkeys are placed in three groups, with one getting a high dose, another a low dose and the last none. They are receiving three injections in total, each a month apart.
The first dose administered on May 23 prompted positive responses from all but one animal in the high-dose category and from three in the low-dose group.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field