Thailand to import 5 million Moderna vaccine doses for private hospitals

5 million doses of the US-made Moderna Covid-19 vaccine will be imported to Thailand at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 to be administered by private hospitals. A set price of 3,400 baht for a package of the 2-dose vaccine, including service fees and insurance, was agreed on by the Private Hospitals Association.

The first 3.9 million doses of the vaccine will be delivered by the fourth quarter of the year while the next 1.1 million doses will be delivered in the first quarter of 2022, according to Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, which procured the vaccines for the private hospitals.

The Thai government’s nationwide Covid-19 immunisation campaign has heavily relied on the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Sinovac vaccine. The Infectious Disease Association of Thailand recently wrote a letter to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, urging him to procure more mRNA vaccines for Thailand. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are mRNA.

Thailand has also ordered 5 million doses of the 1-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as well as 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is a mRNA type of vaccine.

SOURCE: Reuters