Thailand is Skeptical of Russia's New Coronavirus Vaccine

A Thai health official said that the Thai government is considering buying a new coronavirus vaccine from Russia, but more research on its effectiveness is needed.

Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute in Thailand, said that Thai researchers will monitor the Russian 'Sputnik V' vaccine before making recommendations for its use in Thailand.

Russian President Putin approved the large-scale production and use of this vaccine on the 11th. According to reports, the vaccine was developed by Russian scientists, but many international observers remain skeptical.

'We have been paying close attention to it,' Nakorn said in an interview. 'But we worry that the vaccine has not passed all the necessary tests.'

Putin called this the world's first new coronavirus vaccine available for human use, and said that the vaccine has been proven effective, and one of his daughters has already received a dose.

Nakorn said that so far, he has only learned about the vaccine through media reports and needs more information before suggesting it to the Thai government.

Vladimir Kim, a spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Bangkok, said that he does not expect to sell vaccines to Thailand and other countries. 'Why not? We hope that once the vaccine is put into mass production, including for export, there will be no restrictions.'

Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that so far, 20 countries have expressed interest in obtaining the vaccine.

Thailand is also developing its own COVID-19 vaccine. The most advanced prototype is the messenger RNA vaccine, which has been tested on monkeys and successfully obtained antibodies. It will be tested on humans in October.

According to the Thai Ministry of Science and Technology, there are at least five vaccine prototypes in the country that are being developed by different health agencies.