BANGKOK (NNT) – The Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation has hinted that a made in Thailand COVID-19 vaccine project will be entering clinical trials in upcoming months, while showcasing innovations for the New Normal livelihood.
The Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Anek Laothamatas has revealed the National Vaccine Institute has made good progress with its COVID-19 vaccine development project, with a candidate vaccine about to enter its first clinical trial in humans in a few months.
In addition to this project, another group of scientists has successfully developed a method of producing a COVID-19 vaccine using plants. This project is now raising funds through CUEnterprise’s Vaccine for Thais campaign.
On this occasion, the MHESI held an exhibition for 11 excellent innovations in 2020, and delivered the awards for research and inventions for the New Normal livelihood.
The award-winning research projects and inventions include the reusable PPE suit that can be washed and reused at least 20 times, a washable face mask with a protective nano layer that can protect against viruses and can be washed 30 times, an artificial intelligence system to analyze chest x-ray images for suspicious COVID-10 related pneumonia cases, and a disinfectant spraying robot that can help reduce human exposure to the virus.
In the next year, the MHESI will be pushing forward Thailand’s space industry, starting with a project to construct a 1-5 kilogram satellite with the goal being to construct a 100-kilogram satellite that can be transformed into a spaceship capable of traveling to the moon.
