Scientists urge vaccine teamwork

       Scientists have called for the government to gather all scientists with work related to vaccine production to join together to successfully produce an H1N1 vaccine, saying the first lot's failure came from a lack of collaboration.
       Jongkol Lertiendumrong, a researcher from the International Health Policy Programme (IHPP), an advisory body on national health priorities, thinks it is time for a national body to oversee vaccine production and allocation.
       "At present, the Public Heath Ministry is only looking into its responsibility,but the fact is that we need to get ideas from experts in various fields to make mass vaccine production work. The failure was not because local experts are not capable, but rather a lack of collaboration," said Mrs Jongkol.
       Somchai Chauratcharin, a professor in the biotechnology department of Mahidol University, said the first lot had defective imported eggs that were cracked and infected with fungus. He added that the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) should lead a brainstorming session to ensure successful production this time.
       Local eggs suitable for vaccine production are available only at the De-partment of Livestock Development,but there is a limited supply as they are now being used for producing a vaccine for poultry.
       Another option is to promote local producers such as CP or Saha Farm to produce eggs that pass Food and Drug Administration requirements for vaccine production.
       "Vaccine production is a national issue. We need to start thinking about how to make a vaccine on an industrial level from locally reliable materials to ensure we can protect the people in this country," Mr Somchai said.
       He suggests government agencies start thinking about long-term plans to handle vaccine production such as finding a laboratory with greater production capacity as well as locating experts in vaccine development.
       Sit Thirapakpoomanunt, the GPO's influenza vaccine project manager, said the state enterprise would exercise better control for the next vaccine batch due out in two weeks.
       "We followed the guidelines of production strictly and were aware of all the variables, but a lack of hands-on experience in live vaccine production may have led to the low yield," said Mr Sit.
       He said it was possible the viruscultivated eggs imported from Germany may have been damaged in shipment.
       All variables will be strictly controlled in the future, from the condition of the eggs to the virus cultivation."We hope for a better yield but how much better,we don't know," he said.
       Thiravat Hemachudha, a professor of Neurology at Chulalongkorn University, also called for the state agency to be more proactive about vaccine production and educating the public.
       "We need to note the limits from this vaccine we are producing, such as the limited age group of users or that certain health groups cannot use the vaccine. Also, how well does it control the spread of the virus?"
       He said vaccine production was not the final solution because of side effects.Collaboration to disseminate information and figure out controlling measures needs to be discussed to limit a possible second outbreak.