PRIME Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha went to the warehouse at Suvarnabhumi Airport today (Feb. 24) to receive the country’s first 200,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine after their arrival from Beijing and declared that this shipment returns the smile to Thailand, Sanook.com said.
Accompanying him were Deputy Premier and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and other senior officials as well as China’s Acting Ambassador Mr. Yang Xin.
Gen Prayut said the 200,000 doses of this vaccine is part of 2 million that Sinovac Life Sciences Co.,Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China is able to supply to Thailand.
This is on top of the original procurement plan to obtain vaccines from AstraZeneca and in June 61 million doses of this vaccine will be available for everyone in Thailand who voluntarily wants to get inoculated.
First to be vaccinated are medical personnel and public health workers, volunteers and government officials involved in Covid-19 control work in the riskiest areas.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation as the importer will register the vaccine with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and then distribute it to the public. The target group will get two jabs 21 days apart.
Meanwhile the daily Covid count was again below a hundred today totalling 93 cases adding up to 25,692 cumulative confirmed cases but there were no more fatalities with the death toll staying stationary at 83.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said at 11.30 a.m. that of this overall total 24,542 patients have recovered while 3,145 are still undergoing treatment.
There were 71 domestic cases out of the daily total of 93 with 59 emerging from surveillance and service systems while proactive search found 12 more.
Altogether 22 overseas travellers were quarantined over the past 24 hours.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Prime Minister Prayut shows a couple of Sinovac vaccine capsules after their arrival today. Thai headline says, “got it, the first 200,000 doses.” Photo: Sanook.com
Home Page: A bottle of coronavirus vaccine and syringe with Sinovac logo on a white background. Photo: Jernej Furman (CC BY 2.0)
