Chula seeks elder volunteers for Thai mRNA Covid-19 vaccine
Chulalongkorn Universitys Faculty of Medicine is looking for healthy elder volunteers to join the phase 1 human trial of ChulaCov19 vaccine, a domestically developed messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, it said that the
Volunteers must have the following qualifications:
▪︎ Age 56-75 years
▪︎ Have no chronic diseases
▪︎ Have never contracted Covid-19
▪︎Have not received any Covid-19 vaccine
Interested candidates can fill a form at http://crc.md.chula.ac.th/redcap/surveys/?s=78T7E7T3DR and leave their phone number for the staff to call back. Application deadline is August 10, while the trial is expected to start by the end of the month.
ChulaCov19 is an mRNA vaccine developed domestically in collaboration with University of Pennsylvania Professor Drew Weissman, the world-renowned scientist who invented the technology.
The vaccine is made from parts of the coronavirus's genetic material, not the whole virus. The body uses this tiny piece of genetic material to build a spike protein, which stimulates the immune system to fight the virus in case of infection. After triggering the body to make proteins, the mRNA vaccine is destroyed and passes out of the body in a few days.
The tests on humans come after successful trials on monkeys and rats. The first phase human trial started on June 14.
