Thailand's Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation announced on Monday that the country's COVID-19 vaccine trial has made progress after macaque monkeys which were given the first doses of the candidate vaccine showed satisfactory immune response.

"The doses of the mRNA candidate vaccine were administered to the monkeys on May 23 by researchers at the National Primate Research Center in Thailand's central province of Saraburi," said Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovations Minister Suvit Maesincee. "All the monkeys remained in good health and have developed satisfactory immune responses to the virus."

The minister said the second doses were injected again on Monday into the same monkeys.

"So if the second doses produce good results, the next step would be human trials, in either October or November, to prove safety and efficacy," he said.

The minister said he has assigned Dr. Sirirurg Songsivilai, secretary-general of the National Research Council and Dr. Nakorn Premsri, director of National Vaccine Institute to monitor, examine and advise the research team at the National Primate Research Center.

The minister said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has stressed the importance of producing Thailand's own COVID-19 vaccines by cooperating with partner countries such as China and the United States to fight COVID-19.