The Importance of Domestic Vaccine Production
Vaccines play a vital role in promoting public health and ensuring national security. Therefore, it is essential for a country to establish guarantees that sufficient quantities of necessary vaccines are available to protect its population, both now and in the future. This should be based on the principle of self-reliance through broad collaboration among all relevant sectors, in order to develop national capacity in science and technology, as well as long-term vaccine-related management.
If Thailand is able to produce vaccines domestically, this would not only significantly reduce the loss of foreign currency spent on vaccine imports each year, but also create opportunities to export domestically produced vaccines with high production potential, thereby generating income for the country. Accordingly, in 2005 (B.E. 2548), the Cabinet approved the National Vaccine Policy and Strategic Plan.
History of National Vaccine Institute
To serve as a foundation for public investment and support, and to coordinate cooperation between relevant public and private sector organizations in order to rapidly achieve national objectives, it was deemed necessary to establish a central organization with sufficient capability and flexibility. This organization would be responsible for comprehensive coordination and promotion of collaboration among all relevant agencies. The development of this establishment can be summarized as follows:
At present, Thailand’s vaccine management mechanisms still lack unity and continuity in integrating vaccine-related policies and strategic plans. Therefore, it was considered appropriate to establish a systematic mechanism to promote and support research, development, production, assurance, quality control, procurement, and distribution of vaccines that are appropriate and sufficient.
As a result, the Draft National Vaccine Security Act was prepared during 2015–2016 (B.E. 2558–2559). The Cabinet approved the principles of the draft Act on December 20, 2016, and it was officially promulgated in the Royal Gazette on November 21, 2018.
Subsequently, the Royal Decree establishing the National Vaccine Institute (Public Organization) was drafted between 2011 and 2012. The draft was approved by the Cabinet on June 5, 2012, and officially published in the Royal Gazette on August 10, 2012.
The National Vaccine Institute (Public Organization), or NVI, is mandated to manage vaccine research, development, and production to ensure domestic sufficiency during both normal situations and public health emergencies. The institute also manages and coordinates collaboration with relevant public and private agencies, both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, NVI serves as a center for data development, knowledge creation, technology, and vaccine innovation, while providing academic services and comprehensive training to develop the vaccine workforce.
Driving policies and national strategies is of paramount importance. A critical success factor in vaccine operations is the existence of a central agency capable of effectively supporting and promoting policy implementation. However, the Office of the National Vaccine Committee, operating as an internal unit, faced administrative rigidities and limitations regarding human resources. Vaccine development requires a significant number of specialized experts, yet the previous organizational structure was not conducive to effective personnel and budget management.
Consequently, the National Vaccine Committee resolved to establish the National Vaccine Institute under the Regulation of the Office of the Prime Minister, while simultaneously pursuing the establishment of an institute with specific legal backing to address these limitations. This ensures the country possesses an efficient central agency to develop vaccine capabilities towards self-reliance. The National Vaccine Institute, under the Regulation of the Office of the Prime Minister, was officially published in the Royal Gazette on March 25, 2010.
Later, in 2007 (B.E. 2550), the Department of Disease Control established the National Vaccine Committee Office (NVCO) as an internal unit. This was done to support the missions under the National Vaccine Policy and Strategy, with additional personnel allocated to handle a broader range of operational tasks.
In the initial phase, the National Vaccine Committee resolved to establish the National Vaccine Committee Secretariat Office (NVCSO) in 2002 (B.E 2545) to serve as the secretariat for the Committee.