The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday said that two Covid-19 vaccines from the UK and China would arrive later this month as planned.
This was despite the EU’s order to suspend AstraZeneca’s vaccine shipments outside its territory.
The ministry ordered 200,000 additional doses from AstraZeneca, of which the first 50,000 are expected to arrive later this month.
The first jabs are expected to go to medical staff and people in at-risk groups in the provinces and other high-risk places, including Bangkok.
The order was placed before the EU’s announcement to suspend vaccine shipments was made.
The ministry also insisted the country would also get the vaccine made by the Chinese private-owned company Sinovac later this month, even though it had not yet received safety approval from the Chinese Food and Drug Administration.
The ministry said there was no need to wait for such approval from China because the Thai FDA had full authority to approve it for emergency use. However, safety was still paramount.
Thailand’s FDA is considering approving Sinovac’s vaccine for emergency use after the company submitted scientific papers related to its safety, quality and efficacy.
The ministry has placed an order for two million doses from Sinovac and they are still expected to arrive from February to April.
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