Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) has approved the extended use of India’s Covovax (Novavax formulation) to cover those aged 12 to 17, instead of 18 and older, and the extended use of Moderna’s Spikevax in children aged 6 to 11, instead of 12 and older, according to the TFDA Secretary-General Dr Paisarn Dunkum.
Dr, Paisarn said today (Wednesday) that for those aged 12-17, two doses of 0.5 ml each of Covovax vaccine will be administered three weeks apart, the same dosage and interval period as people who are older.
In the case of Spikevax, two doses of 0.25 ml, which is half the dosage for adults, will be administered to children aged 6-11, with a 4-week interval between the first and second doses, said Dr. Paisarn.
Spikevax is a COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 6 and older. It does not contain the virus and cannot cause COVID-19, but it contains elasomeran, a messenger RNA molecule with instructions for producing a protein from the SARS-Cov-2 virus which causes COVID-19.
In April, Thailand’s Public Health Ministry received 200,000 doses of Covovax, produced in India, from QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), which comprises Australia, India, Japan and the United States. In the same month, the TFDA approved emergency use of Covovax in individuals aged 18 and older.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that, so far, only 54% of children aged 5-11 have received a first dose of vaccine and 17% have received their second dose.
The minister chaired a meeting of the National Communicable Diseases Committee today to discuss preparatory measures, jointly worked out by the Public Health and Education ministries, to cope with the resumption of on-site classes at schools across the country on May 17th.
He said the committee also discussed measures for the transition into the post-pandemic stage, as the number of new COVID-19 infections are now declining faster than earlier predicted.
Anutin also said that the Public Health Ministry is negotiating with AstraZeneca (Thailand) for the procurement of Long-Acting Antibody (LAAB) medication, which has been tested on patients who are immunocompromised, such as those with kidney disease or who have undergone organ transplant and need immunosuppressant medication.
