Moderna Covid-19 vaccine now approved in Thailand

The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency use in Thailand. The country’s Food and Drug Administration announced the authorisation yesterday.

Thailand’s vaccination started in late February. So far, only the Sinovac vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine have been used to vaccinate the public. The local company Siam Bioscience is now producing the AstraZeneca vaccine in Thailand. The locally-made vaccines will be ready for public use next month. The Thai FDA also approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The Moderna vaccine will likely be administered by the private sector. In previous reports, the Private Hospital Association said the standard price of no more than 3,000 baht to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. They say the price would include both doses of the vaccine, which is need for the vaccine to be effective. Insurance and tax are also included in the price.

Since vaccine manufacturers can’t sell directly to private companies in Thailand, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation will facilitate the importation process.

Since the start of Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign, 2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Thailand. Only 645,500 people, or 1% of the population in Thailand, have received both doses of the vaccine. The Thai government set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 50 million people by the end of the year.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post