11 July 2024

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s planned injection of AstraZeneca vaccine, scheduled for 7.30am on Sunday, has been postponed indefinitely due to a technical problem.

An official, attached to Government House’s spokesman’s office, said today that the Disease Control Department of the Ministry of Public Health had notified Government House of the postponement, which is due to the lack of letter of certification from the British pharmaceutical Company, AstraZeneca, covering the first shipment of 117,600 doses to Thailand.

He explained that this particular shipment came from South Korea. Although there is a letter of certification from AstraZeneca, but it was intended for South Korea, it will need a documentation from AstraZeneca specific to Thailand.

As for the 200,000 doses of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, he explained that it is not suitable for people over 60, including the prime minister.

It is not yet known whether Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who was also scheduled to be vaccinated tomorrow, will go ahead with Sinovac vaccine.