Thailand says has enough supplies for start of COVID-19 vaccinations

[snoop1130]

A person receives the second dose of Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccine at the Kodang stadium in Bangkok, Thailand June 4, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand will have its promised amount of COVID-19 vaccines for use during this month, a health official said on Friday, amid supply concern and public anxiety ahead of a so far chaotic mass immunisation drive.

 

Some hospitals have postponed vaccination appointments citing lack of supply, the hospitals said, with one group saying the delay would affect nearly 40,000 people, just days ahead of the start of Thailand's main vaccination programme.

 

That drive depends on 61 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to be made locally by a firm owned by Thailand's king, which is making vaccines for use across Southeast Asia.

 

The Thai government had used the Sinovac brand for early inoculations but this week said 11 million more of those had been ordered.

 

"Both AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines will be distributed to hospitals in all province throughout June ... there will be more than 6 million doses," said Kiattaphum Wongrachit, permanent secretary of the health ministry.

 

Concern about availability has grown as Thailand suffers its deadliest outbreak so far, with only 2.7 million people having received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

 

The government has been scrambling to source more and the ministry on Friday said it hoped to sign a contract next week for 20 million shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

 

It received 1.8 million AstraZeneca shots on Friday, of 6 million due this month.

 

An additional 200,000 doses of that vaccine have been sourced from South Korea, a health ministry source told Reuters.

 

Concerns had emerged about the production capacity of royal-owned Siam Bioscience, after the Philippines said its AstraZeneca order had been reduced and delayed.

 

James Teague, president of AstraZeneca Thailand, said on Friday that its Thai partner was on track in terms of quality control and regular doses would be delivered locally in June, then to Southeast Asian countries from July.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-06-04

 

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[Susco]

3 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

James Teague, president of AstraZeneca Thailand, said on Friday that its Thai partner was on track in terms of quality control and regular doses would be delivered locally in June, then to Southeast Asian countries from July.

 

In other words he admits that they are behind on production, he only has to choose his wording carefully, as he probably is aware of what LM means in Thailand

[ikke1959]

Of course all information change all the time.... Enough vaccines, but In Hua Hin 4900 people can't get one,, In other provinces also delays cancelled appointments. They are a mess and can't organize anything. and as an excuse not enough people who give jabs, or to many applications  and name it.. And than talk about opening for tourists.. First make house before sell it. 

[GBW]

So is this "Company" being run as a 'Non Profit' locally for this particular situation ? 

Just thinking.........

[Thailand]

Bit of a no comment thread methinks?

[fangless]

The Ministry(s) of contradictions speaks yet again with yet more of its many forked tongues!

[clivebaxter]

Not much point starting if they cannot follow up with the second dose!

[fangless]

Just now, clivebaxter said:

Not much point starting if they cannot follow up with the second dose!

I agree!

How can you follow up with a second dose if you cannot provide a first dose?

[connda]

I wonder where all the syringes and needles will go... ????

[connda]

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Of course all information change all the time.... Enough vaccines, but In Hua Hin 4900 people can't get one,, In other provinces also delays cancelled appointments. They are a mess and can't organize anything. and as an excuse not enough people who give jabs, or to many applications  and name it.. And than talk about opening for tourists.. First make house before sell it. 

Every time they have shot shortages and delay, they run Anutin out to tell the public that they have "plenty of vaccines of many brands for everyone." 
Just keep repeating the same worn out platitude again and again.  Say it enough and he'll surely become the new darling of Thai society and public trust.

 

 

[rodknock]

since i have nothing good to say i will say nothing

[Surelynot]

Bumrungrad are refusing registrations for the vaccine as they say the limited supply issued by the government is already accounted for.

[fondue zoo]

5 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

then to Southeast Asian countries from July

 

It's not going to look good if they start selling to other countries when they still don't have enough for the Thai population's two shot requirement.

[fondue zoo]

double post sorry

[Soikhaonoiken]

Enough to to start vaccination.... Does that mean one day or two days supply.... 

[jacko45k]

Right, first patient please... there you go. 

One... we have started.

Have we got any more?

No.

Okay, let us go eat somtam!

[Tracyb]

Vaccine delivery fromThailand to the Philippines delayed…….

 

Why is Thailand thinking about exporting ANYdoses before 70% of the population has received two doses?  

[herfiehandbag]

6 minutes ago, Tracyb said:

Vaccine delivery fromThailand to the Philippines delayed…….

 

Why is Thailand thinking about exporting ANYdoses before 70% of the population has received two doses?  

Perhaps the license terms from Astra Zeneca stipulates that the facility must supply other South East Asian nations (hey - it's a hub!) and then there is the ????...

[Bangkok Barry]

8 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

 

It's not going to look good if they start selling to other countries when they still don't have enough for the Thai population's two shot requirement.

 

Money to be made selling to other countries. Same as when Thailand sold massive amounts of pork to China when China has a pig virus that led to millions being destroyed. Prices in Thailand shot up, but the Thai government clearly has no interest in their own people when there's money to be made.

[Bangkok Barry]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"Both AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines will be distributed to hospitals in all province throughout June ... there will be more than 6 million doses," said Kiattaphum Wongrachit, permanent secretary of the health ministry.

 

Has anyone told him there are 69,000,000 people in Thailand who all need two doses? Still, I suppose 6 million doses is enough to cover the VIPs.

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand will have its promised amount of COVID-19 vaccines for use during this month, a health official said on Friday, amid supply concern and public anxiety ahead of a so far chaotic mass immunisation drive

Hua Hin thought so too... but but but came the reply.

[hotchilli]

41 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

Money to be made selling to other countries. Same as when Thailand sold massive amounts of pork to China when China has a pig virus that led to millions being destroyed. Prices in Thailand shot up, but the Thai government clearly has no interest in their own people when there's money to be made.

We have a Thai government?

[Excel]

Just now, hotchilli said:

We have a Thai government?

I think a puppet regime may more accurately reflect their status.

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

We have a Thai government?

Unfortunately. The people are fine. The government is not.

[connda]

Like the EU, AZ is going to be settling breach of contract lawsuits with numerous Asia countries for awhile.  Greed in a finite world tends to be self-limiting.  It seems that there was intent to limit the vaccine pool to two players.  Now that exceta has hit the spinning blades all stakeholders are covering their derrieres as Thailand's vaccination efforts were bureaucratically slowed to a crawl. 
It didn't have to be this way.  Negotiations for significant supplies of additional vaccines like Pfizer, J&J, and Modera should have happened before the beginning of the year instead of now in June 2021.  Instead?  The public was handed mealy-mouthed excuses that the Thai FDA hadn't approved vaccines which were approved by the WHO for emergency use. 
Attempting to achieve financial gain by controlling market share during a global health emergency is unconscionably.
The result?  This inexcusable mess.

Unfortunately the public will be handed a stew of excuses which they will dutifully lap up.  Those responsible for this cl฿ster*฿** are made of Teflon and will slide.

[connda]

5 hours ago, Tracyb said:

Vaccine delivery fromThailand to the Philippines delayed…….

 

Why is Thailand thinking about exporting ANYdoses before 70% of the population has received two doses?  

As Anutin so blithely noted - there are contracts!

Astrazeneca signed contracts to supply vaccines that its brand-spanking new Asian-hub manufacturing facility was incapably of producing.  And my guess is that their other plants are over-burdened and can not meet demand.  In the short term they will suffer financially.  In the long term their upper crust executives will probably become billionaires.

Those who can't grasp that this is about money are blind to how the ugly world actually works for real.

[connda]

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Of course all information change all the time.... Enough vaccines, but In Hua Hin 4900 people can't get one,, In other provinces also delays cancelled appointments. They are a mess and can't organize anything. and as an excuse not enough people who give jabs, or to many applications  and name it.. And than talk about opening for tourists.. First make house before sell it. 

Next we'll be told there are needle and syringe shortages.

[connda]

15 minutes ago, connda said:

Next we'll be told there are needle and syringe shortages.

It doesn't need to be this way.  The government needs to get out of the way and allow private hospital as well as clinics to negotiate directly with manufacturers and fill the demand for profit.

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, connda said:

It doesn't need to be this way.  The government needs to get out of the way and allow private hospital as well as clinics to negotiate directly with manufacturers and fill the demand for profit.

I think "optics" might be a big factor here.......imagine the private sector getting their act together and vaccinating all the expats and wealthy Thais before the common herd......doesn't look good.

[PETERTHEEATER]

21 hours ago, Susco said:

.......as he probably is aware of what LM means in Thailand......

Lousy Management?