BANGKOK, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The mRNA vaccine against the coronavirus developed by Chulalongkorn University of Thailand, is scheduled to enter the first stage of human trials soon, according to a university official.

This picture taken on May 23, 2020 shows a laboratory technician holding a dose of a COVID-19 novel coronavirus vaccine candidate ready for trial on monkeys at the National Primate Research Center of Thailand at Chulalongkorn University in Saraburi. (Photo: AFP)

In Thursday's press conference, Kiat Ruxrungtham, who is in charge of the University's vaccine development project, confirmed the mRNA vaccine ChulaCov19 will be put on trial with humans in late April or early May, following satisfactory results of earlier trials with rats and macaques.

If the human trials with the mRNA vaccine are successful, Thai company Bionet Asia will manufacture a range of one to five million doses of the vaccine by the end of this year, Kiat said.

The university is still working on an updated version of the vaccine to fight against new coronavirus variants, he added.