FrenchieGirl
Senior Moderator
Flu vaccine's safety guaranteed: Thai drug manufacturer
2009-07-17 23:30:07
BANGKOK, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Thai state-run drug manufacturer guaranteed the safety of the vaccine for A/H1N1 flu they make, amid growing concerns there would be limited time to test it, Thai media reported Friday.
Bangkok Post online quoted Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) chairman Vichai Chokewiwat as saying that the nasal-spray vaccine against the new flu virus would meet global standards with the close supervision of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO-sponsored production of the vaccine will begin next month after the GPO's receipt of the seed virus and 350 eggs from Germany to grow the vaccine.
"If things go as planned, we will have the Thai-made spray vaccine by the end of this year," he said, adding that Bangkok will sell 10 percent of the total production of 10 million doses to the WHO at a low price.
Vichai made the assurance amid growing concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine due to its rushed production.
Thai former public health minister Suchai Charoenratanakul, citing a 1976 US case where 33 people died after being injected with a low-quality vaccine, on Thursday urged the government to make sure the vaccine was safe before releasing it to the public.
According to Vichai, the vaccine development team plans to conduct trials on 430 volunteers of different age groups.
The clinical test on humans, which takes 120 days, will be closely supervised by the Public Health Ministry's Ethical Review Committee for Research in Human Subjects.
The newly made vaccines will also be submitted for the Food and Drugs Administration's approval before being introduced to the public.
The government will provide the vaccine to about five million people for free.
2009-07-17 23:30:07
BANGKOK, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Thai state-run drug manufacturer guaranteed the safety of the vaccine for A/H1N1 flu they make, amid growing concerns there would be limited time to test it, Thai media reported Friday.
Bangkok Post online quoted Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) chairman Vichai Chokewiwat as saying that the nasal-spray vaccine against the new flu virus would meet global standards with the close supervision of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO-sponsored production of the vaccine will begin next month after the GPO's receipt of the seed virus and 350 eggs from Germany to grow the vaccine.
"If things go as planned, we will have the Thai-made spray vaccine by the end of this year," he said, adding that Bangkok will sell 10 percent of the total production of 10 million doses to the WHO at a low price.
Vichai made the assurance amid growing concerns about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine due to its rushed production.
Thai former public health minister Suchai Charoenratanakul, citing a 1976 US case where 33 people died after being injected with a low-quality vaccine, on Thursday urged the government to make sure the vaccine was safe before releasing it to the public.
According to Vichai, the vaccine development team plans to conduct trials on 430 volunteers of different age groups.
The clinical test on humans, which takes 120 days, will be closely supervised by the Public Health Ministry's Ethical Review Committee for Research in Human Subjects.
The newly made vaccines will also be submitted for the Food and Drugs Administration's approval before being introduced to the public.
The government will provide the vaccine to about five million people for free.