Thailand will procure an additional 35 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from other 2 or 3 companies, on top of the 65 million from Sinovac and AstraZeneca, according to a post on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s Facebook on Wednesday morning.
The decision to buy the additional doses was reached at a meeting of the working committee, tasked with procuring COVID-19 vaccines.
Chaired by former public health minister Dr. Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, the committee comprises representatives from the Public Health Ministry, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, the Food and Drugs Administration and the Association of Private Hospitals.
Of the 35 million doses to be purchased, the prime minister said that the private sector, led by the Board of Trade of Thailand, has offered to ease the government’s financial burden by funding the purchase of between 10 and 15 million doses, for employees of private companies.
He also said that officials have been instructed to distribute all the available vaccine doses, so that they can be administered by the end of this year.
