Thailand to start first coronavirus vaccinations this week

 

FILE PHOTO: A healthcare worker takes a nasal swab sample from a migrant worker during proactive testing at their work place, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand January 29, 2021. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand will start vaccinating priority groups including health workers against COVID-19 by the end of this week, its prime minister said on Tuesday, a day ahead of the arrival of the country's first coronavirus vaccines.

 

Thailand will receive the first 200,000 of two million doses of Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac on Wednesday. The Chinese vaccine was given emergency use authorisation on Monday.

 

"We will start injecting the target groups within three days after the vaccines arrive," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said in a Facebook post.

 

The Sinovac vaccines will be given to priority groups in 13 provinces, the COVID-19 taskforce said. More than half of the 200,000 doses will be earmarked for Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of Thailand's latest outbreak, and the capital, Bangkok.

 

Prayuth said 800,000 more doses will arrive in March and the remaining one million in April, some of which will be used for the second inoculations for priority groups.

 

Prayuth also said that 26 million doses of vaccines on order from AstraZeneca, which has authorised a Thai firm to manufacture its vaccine, will be ready around May to June.

 

Thailand has also reserved a further 35 million doses from AstraZeneca.

 

Thailand will also receive 117,000 imported doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday, health minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters.

 

Those were part of the 150,000 "early doses" he had previously said AstraZeneca would provide from another Asian country.

 

Authorities have received some documents from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen and have been contacted by Moderna and Pfizer, all with a view to registering their COVID-19 vaccines, according to Prayuth.

 

Thailand is aiming to administer 10 million doses a month from June when its mass vaccination campaign is in full swing.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-02-23

 

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4 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Authorities have received some documents from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen and have been contacted by Moderna and Pfizer, all with a view to registering their COVID-19 vaccines, according to Prayuth.

Received some documents...... Sounds promising????

So if they're rolling out on of the cheapest and least effective vaccines, what was their reasoning for not being part of Covax?  They just didn't want to do it because it is for "poor countries"?

 

It seems like "no choice of vaccine" is a fairly lame excuse, given where their choice has gotten them.

3 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

So if they're rolling out on of the cheapest and least effective vaccines, what was their reasoning for not being part of Covax?  They just didn't want to do it because it is for "poor countries"?

Too transparent with little opportunity for graft.

23 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

 

Thailand is aiming to administer 10 million doses a month from June when its mass vaccination campaign is in full swing

 

Given the crock up they've made in procurement they've got more chance of Anutin sharing a joint with the Pope than meeting that .. 

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

So if they're rolling out on of the cheapest and least effective vaccines, what was their reasoning for not being part of Covax?  They just didn't want to do it because it is for "poor countries"?

 

It seems like "no choice of vaccine" is a fairly lame excuse, given where their choice has gotten them.

 

Nah - its the helpless masses that get the junk Sinovac.  The big shots get the proven and safe.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2073147/anutin-prayut-to-get-astrazeneca-shot?fbclid=IwAR0247ITqb443615FEoB7paomdYJrSZZg_qnomh2G1FJL7G2LdQU5vissW8

 

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand will also receive 117,000 imported doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday, health minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters.

 

 Why didn't he mention this in his grand announcement about Dinovac on Monday?

My guess is the Sputnik vaccine is better than all of these.

"The rest of the vaccine for Thais in 2021 will be AstraZeneca made locally by Siam Bioscience, available from June to August (26 million) and September to December (35 million)".

 

Yeh, no thanks, I will wait for either my preferred choice, the Johnson and Johnson one, if that's nowhere in sight, it will have to be the Moderna or Pfizer, just hope the latter doesn't give me a Bonner, as I wouldn't want to give the nurses the wrong impression. 

 

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand will start vaccinating priority groups including health workers against COVID-19 by the end of this week

Again?

    Maybe we should all tune back in come June--this is all just a complete waste of time.  Maybe a waste of time in June, too.  Wake me when the 63 million doses arrive--it won't be our turn until then--if then.  

22 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

just hope the latter doesn't give me a Bonner, as I wouldn't want to give the nurses the wrong impression

Don't worry, nurses love a good "Bonner".....