Vibhavadi Hospital was ordered on Sunday (Dec 27) to stop advertising COVID-19 vaccinations for sale in advance on the grounds that no vaccine is yet approved in Thailand.Vibhavadi Hospital told Reuters its online offer for 1,000 initial reservations for the two-dose Moderna vaccine had been the result of a misunderstanding.
With reservations priced at 4,000 baht, the total cost of getting vaccinated would have been 10,000 baht.The Ministry of Health said in a statement that no COVID-19 vaccine had been approved for use in Thailand yet and that advertising one violated hospital regulations.
“The removal of the advertisement was ordered,” it said.Chaisit Kupwiwat, a director at Vibhavadi Hospital, told Reuters:
“There was a misunderstanding and so we’ve stopped the programme … We planned to order the vaccines, but now we’ve stopped.
“The hospital had sought reservations by Jan 31 for vaccinations later in 2021. Moderna did not respond immediately to an emailed request for comment on any such sale.
Thailand has signed an advance deal for AstraZeneca’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, but has not set rollout plans for any vaccine yet.
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