Thailand’s experts have created a machine to more efficiently draw out COVID-19 vaccination doses and optimize lower-than-expected supplies as the country struggles with its largest coronavirus outbreak yet. According to experts at Chulalongkorn University, the “AutoVacc” device can draw 12 doses of the AstraZeneca (AZN.L) vaccine from a vial in four minutes using a robotic arm.
The machine has been in operation at the university’s vaccination center since Monday.”The machine guarantees with accuracy that we can gain an extra 20% from each vaccine vial – from 10 to 12 doses,” said Juthamas Ratanavaraporn, the lead researcher of the team at the university’s Biomedical Engineering Research Center.
“The extra 20% that we get means that if we have AstraZeneca for 1 million people, this machine can increase the number of doses to 1.2 million people,” said Juthamas.
Thailand had kept the COVID-19 pandemic under control, but more virulent strains like Delta have sent cases and deaths rising since April, putting pressure on officials to speed up vaccination. So far, only about 9% of Thailand’s 66 million people have been properly vaccinated. Source – Reuters
