A cabinet meeting on Tuesday approved the Public Health Ministry’s proposal to purchase 60 million AstraZeneca Covid-19 doses in 2022, Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said.

 

“According to the purchase contract with AstraZeneca Plc, the first lot of 15 million doses will be delivered within the first quarter of 2022, followed by 30 million doses in the second quarter and 15 million in the third quarter,” he said.

“The cabinet also gave approval for the Department of Disease Control to buy an additional 165,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Spain, on top of the 449,500 doses previously approved for purchase from the country on September 14, taking total vaccine doses from Spain to 614,500,” he said.

Thanakorn also said the vaccines from Spain are a result of Thailand’s negotiations to buy vaccines from the European Union, and that all 614,500 doses will be delivered in October.

“Besides AstraZeneca, Thailand has more plans to buy/accept via donation other types of Covid-19 vaccines until the end of this year to complement the national vaccine procurement plan of 2021,” Thanakorn added.

From February 28 to September 27 (212 days), Thailand has administered 51.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, with 31.8 million people receiving their first jabs and 18.4 million getting their second jabs. Some 1.1 million people have received a booster shot or the third jab.

 

 

The Nation