Aim to buy 35m more inoculations

Thailand aims to purchase 35 million more doses of Covid-19 vaccines, in addition to the 65 million already being procured for the government’s national inoculation programme, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says.

The government’s working group on Covid-19 vaccine sourcing will seek to purchase the additional doses from two to three suppliers, of which between 10 and 15 million doses will likely be handled by the private sector led by the Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade of Thailand, he said.

The working group comprises a medical panel of the Public Health Ministry, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO), the Food and Drug Administration and the Private Hospital Association.

Formed on April 9, the panel is led by Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, adviser to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Gen Prayut now supports the Public Health Ministry to find any types of Covid-19 vaccines that are safe and effective, without mentioning the suppliers, said Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

The PM wants the ministry to vaccinate at least 70% of the population to ensure herd immunity against Covid-19 by the end of this year, he said. And with the purchase of 35 million more doses now on the cards, he said, Thailand will have enough Covid-19 vaccines to administer to all 70 million people, as opposed to an initial target set previously that 35 million Thais will have to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of this year.

Gen Prayut had informed Mr Anutin that he had had talks with leaders of Russia, the US and China. The PM said he had asked them to help Thailand negotiate for more vaccines, Mr Anutin said.

A source in the vaccine sourcing working group told the Prachachat Thurakit, a Thai-language business newspaper, that the working group concluded at its first meeting on Tuesday that it would next propose for Gen Prayut to import 35 million more doses of Covid-19 vaccines, which will bring the total of all Covid-19 vaccines to be imported to Thailand to more than 100 million doses.

The working group also came up with options for importing the additional 35 million doses, allowing the GPO to import them for distribution later to private companies.