The first batch of China’s Sinopharm vaccine of one million doses will arrive in Thailand next Sunday (June 20^th), according to Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA). Online registration will open next Monday (June 14^th) and inoculations are expected to begin in two weeks on June 25th.

The academy’s deputy secretary-general, Dr. Santi Srisermphok recently held a meeting with representatives from private hospitals and stressed that those who sign up to be a Sinopharm provider must have the capability to:

1. Administer vaccines according to medical standards
2. Provide care for patients in case of emergency after vaccination
3. Store the vaccines at 2-8^oC
4. Set up an IT system, to record the vaccinations, in line with the CRA’s specifications
5. Designate teams with clear responsibility for each task

A Sinopharm shot will cost 888 Baht, including the logistics, storage, insurance covering possible side effects and other related costs, but not inclusive of medical service fees. The charges will, however, be taken care of by bodies and supporting organisations, meaning many individuals will essentially get the jabs free of charge.

Both private and public organisations can reserve the vaccines from next Monday at 8am.

After signing up, it will take five days to receive the confirmation, during which, the CRA’s vaccine committee will verify the organisation’s qualifications and determine the number of doses it will be allocated. Then, a contract will be signed and payment made before the CRA dispatches the vaccine to designated hospitals on agreed dates.

Once the Sinopharm doses arrive in Thailand, it will take another two days to verify the batch number prior to being shipped out to hospitals on June 23^rd and 24^th. Inoculations will commence on June 25^th.

Sinopharm is an inactivated virus vaccine, suitable for individuals who are 18 or older. Two doses are required, with the second shot taken 3-4 weeks after the first.

One pack of Sinopharm contains 20-30 vials of vaccine. Hospitals need to prepare their own storage facilities. The CRA will dispatch the vaccines every 10 days, each will get 100 doses at a time, to avoid stock-piling.

It will take two days to deliver the vaccines outside Bangkok.

The CRA has assured interested organisations that there will be sufficient vaccines for them. Another batch of one million doses will be arriving in the next 10 days.