Thailands High Society get Swine Flu Vaccine first
Hi-So Thais to get “unstoppable” swine flu vaccine first
BANGKOK: — Thailand’s top corporate executives are amongst those who have been singled out to receive the first doses of imported pandemic A(H1N1) vaccine when supplies become available.
Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) director Dr Vithit Attavejchakul said when the first two million doses arrive they will be dispensed to three groups: physicians, nurses and other health personnel; people with chronic and congenital diseases; and the country’s top executives.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva confirmed that the first pandemic A(H1N1), originally termed swine flu, vaccine will be dispensed on this basis on Thursday, saying, “the government cannot order adequate doses for everyone in the country yet as there are many people in the high-risk group.”
According to Dr Vithit, one of the conditions attached to the use of the vaccines is that the producers will not be responsible for any side effects, and all countries must accept this.
The announcement coincided with a statement by the World Health Organization (WHO) that pandemic A(H1N1) was the fastest-moving pandemic ever and that it was now pointless to count every case.
According to the WHO, “the 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed. In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new A(H1N1) virus has spread in less than six weeks.”
Flu experts say at least a million people are infected in the United States alone, and the WHO says the pandemic is unstoppable.
Meanwhile, GPO chairman Dr Vichai Chokewiwat, dismissed concerns that a local nasal-spray vaccine currently being produced by the state-run drug manufacturer could be ineffective or unsafe due to its rushed production and limited testing.
Former public health minister Suchai Charoenratanakul, citing a 1976 US case where 33 people died after being injected with a low-quality vaccine, yesterday urged the government to make sure the vaccine was safe before releasing it to the public.
However, Dr Vichai sought to alleviate any fears, saying the nasal-spray vaccine would meet global standards and be produced under the close supervision of the WHO.
According to Dr Vichai, the WHO-sponsored production of the vaccine will begin next month at a pilot plant in Silpakorn University’s pharmaceutical faculty in Nakhon Pathom, after the GPO’s receipt of the seed virus and 350 eggs from Germany to grow the vaccine.
Dr Vichai said, “the safety standard of the vaccine is our ultimate concern. We can’t introduce it to the public without a satisfying result from a clinical trial on humans.”
The vaccine development team plans to conduct trials on 430 volunteers of different age groups, with the tests expected to take 120-days and be closely supervised by the Public Health Ministry’s Ethical Review Committee for Research in Human Subjects.
The newly made vaccine will also be submitted to the Food and Drugs Administration for approval before being introduced to the public.
“If things go as planned, we will have the Thai-made spray vaccine by the end of this year,” he said.
Dr Vichai said Thailand will sell 10 percent of the total production of 10 million doses to the WHO at a low price, while about five million people will receive the vaccine for free.
However, GPO managing director Dr Witit Artavatkun, said the spray-type vaccine will not be suitable for people with certain ailments such as flu, emphysema, asthma, respiratory problems, HIV/Aids, or those who are allergic to chicken eggs.
For those not falling into the three priority groups, or willing to wait until the end of the year, the Commerce Ministry has asked manufacturers of face masks and alcohol-based hand gels to quickly increase production and reduce their exports to ensure adequate supplies.
Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said, “face masks and alcohol-based hand gel products have been put on the ministry’s price-control product list to keep their prices at the appropriate level.”
She also said that face masks and anti-bacterial hand gels will also be sold at 20 to 40 percent discount at Blue Flag markets nationwide.
Ms Porntiva said that if sellers were found to raise prices unrealistically, or intentionally hoard them, they could face a jail term of up to seven-years and a fine of Bt140,000 (about $US4,100).
In its Thursday statement, the WHO said it will no longer issue global tables showing the numbers of confirmed cases for all countries – which stood at 94,512 cases with 429 deaths as of its last update on July 6.
On its website the WHO says, ‘seasonal influenza in the USA is currently estimated to be 25–50 million cases per year, leading to 150,000 hospitalizations and 30,000–40,000 deaths.
‘If these figures are extrapolated to the rest of the world, the average global burden of inter-pandemic influenza may be on the order of ~1 billion cases of flu, ~3–5 million cases of severe illness and 300,000–500,000 deaths annually’.
