Tobacco vaccines and lizard blood: Meet Thailand’s contenders to tackle COVID-19

If there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us, it’s not to put all our eggs in one basket. Most countries have faced some kind of delays, shortages, and disruptions to vaccine supplies and Thailand has been no exception. But as the country steps up its rollout, with around 90 percent of Bangkok now jabbed, local scientists are still racing to produce vaccines of their own to ensure a steady supply of booster shots for when they might be needed. Here are some of the most promising Thai projects vying for a slice of the vaccine market that could knock leading brands off the shelf.

Chulalongkorn’s MRNA Vaccine

If approved, Chulalongkorn University’s Chula-Cov 19 vaccine would be the first mRNA vaccine developed and produced in Thailand, and possibly in Southeast Asia. The university began Phase 2 trials on 150 volunteers last month after seeing promising…