A senior health official said Monday that Thailand's long-awaited vaccination campaign against COVID-19 would formally begin on Valentine's Day, as the country confirmed two new coronavirus deaths.
For advertising purposes, the first party to be inoculated with vaccines jointly produced by British-Swedish pharmaceutical AstraZeneca and Oxford University would involve frontline health professionals such as physicians and nurses and some political officials.
"The Feb. Tawee Chotpitayasunondh, a specialist at the National Committee on Communicable Diseases, said by phone, "14 is the scheduled date." "There are still a lot of factors to consider, but as soon as they arrive, we want to administer the vaccines."
Thailand has requested 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration approved last week for emergency use.
Doctors advise residents to get vaccinated for herd immunity: 'We Can't Be Picky'
While Siam BioScience, a business solely owned by the palace, will manufacture most of the doses domestically, the government is expected to import 200,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from abroad to fill the void until local manufacturing can be rolled out in May.
On Wednesday, health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the first shipment of 50,000 doses is scheduled to arrive next month. The remainder of the shipment, he said, is due to arrive in March and April.
Tawee also indicated that, while he declined to mention faces, some of the jabs would be reserved for those senior government officials to increase public trust in the vaccine.
"There's going to be a promotional campaign," said Tawee. "But it will certainly be prioritized for healthcare workers."
How the first category would be selected for inoculation remains unknown. Government officials previously said that due to the magnitude of the local epidemic, "vulnerable groups" in five provinces of Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Trat, Rayong, and Chanthaburi will be given priority.
Besides the AstraZeneca vaccines, two million doses of the Chinese medicinal Sinovac vaccine were also requested by the government.
Health authorities stated earlier this month that by the end of February, the first 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines will be delivered to Thailand, however considering the ever shorter deadline, the Thai FDA has yet to give permission for its use.
On Monday, Thailand confirmed two new coronavirus deaths, along with 187 new cases of infection.
As a 61-year-old UK national who fell ill while staying at a quarantine hospital, the country's 74th victim to die from the virus was named. A 56-year-old woman who reportedly contracted the virus from her partner, who worked in a seafood market in the province of Samut Sakhon, was the 75th survivor, pandemic response centre spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan said at a news conference.
The cumulative tally of coronavirus infections in the world currently stands at 13,687.
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