Thai Red Cross rejects accusation that it profited by reselling Moderna doses

The Thai Red Cross Society has rejected a claim on social media that it profited from the resale of Moderna vaccine doses. According to a Bangkok Post report, the organisation was responding to a claim on Facebook that it had purchased Moderna doses through the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and was attempting to resell them to various organisations at an inflated price.

Kritsada Boonrach from the TRCS has spoken out to address the claim, saying the organisation had merely invited relevant agencies, including provincial administrations, to join its efforts to vaccinate people free of charge.

“This information may have caused misunderstanding about how the TRCS operates and its intentions.”

According to the Bangkok Post report, Kritsada says that in April, as Thailand began its battle with the worst Covid-19 wave to date, the TRCS decided to procure vaccines from Red Cross organisations in other countries, as well as directly from manufacturers. Zuellig Pharma, Moderna’s distributor in Thailand, agreed to sell the organisation 1 million doses through the GPO.

The TRCS used its own budget to purchase 100,000 doses from the GPO at a cost of 1,100 baht per dose. The society invited various organisations, including Chulalongkorn Hospital, to purchase an additional 150,000 doses. It also contacted 76 provincial administrations, 38 of which agreed to purchase another 750,000 doses from the GPO, with the TRCS acting as intermediary. Kritsada insists the Red Cross did not resell the doses for any more than what it paid for them, adding that the information can be checked with the GPO.

“We didn’t resell the Moderna vaccine by charging more than the 1,100 baht per dose price as alleged.”

Meanwhile, Zuellig Pharma and the GPO have advised the society that the doses will be delivered in batches from November.

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SOURCE: Bangkok Post