Thailand to get 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccine, 5 million Johnson & Johnson doses

The Thai government is ordering 20 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, along with 5 million of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. Thai PBS World reports that deliveries are expected in the second half of the year.

The Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, and Nattaphon Narkpanich, chair of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson doses are in addition to another 8 million Sinovac doses, enabling the government to achieve its target of administering 100 million doses this year. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha confirmed yesterday that 61 million AstraZeneca doses are also on order.

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in March – and then things went very quiet. The Pfizer vaccine has yet to be approved by the FDA, but Anutin says the manufacturer has agreed to set aside between 10 and 20 million doses for Thailand.

The government’s mass vaccination got underway on Monday, although many have had their appointments postponed as hospitals around the country ended up receiving fewer doses than expected. The Public Health Ministry has urged hospitals to honour vaccination appointments, in particular for those over the age of 60 and those with 1 or more of 7 underlying health conditions.

The Disease Control Department says 3.54 million vaccine doses are being distributed nationwide for inoculation in June, with a goal of administering 10 million doses by the end of the month. Over 4.6 million doses have been administered so far, of which 400,000 were on Monday.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World