Thailand to produce flu, bird-flu vaccine by 2018
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The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) will construct the country's first facility to make influenza and bird-flu vaccine in Saraburi's Kaeng Khoi district, with production set to start in early 2018.
Following the Cabinet’s approval of the GPO project on Tuesday, Public Health Minister Rachata Rachatanavin said the facility would meet the World Health Organisation’s manufacturing standards.
After undergoing lab tests and getting an okay from the Food and Drug Administration, the vaccines would be made available to public, he added. Initially, the facility is expected to produce 2 million doses per year, but that could rise to 10 million doses annually, or 60 million dosages in case of a pandemic.
In related news, Rachata said the ministry would organise a free nationwide Diptheria vaccination programme for 28 million adults aged 20-50 from January 1. Hailed as the worlds’ largest vaccination campaign, the programme is designed as a New Year’s gift to the public and also in honour of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s fifth cycle birthday on April 2.
