The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has dismissed a claim made online by ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in which he said the Pfizer vaccine was already in Thailand for use among a certain group of people.

"The Pfizer vaccine is not yet in this country because Pfizer has yet to register its Covid-19 vaccine with us,'' the FDA's Paisarn Dankum said.

He said Pfizer has been cleared to import its Covid-19 vaccine into the country. However, it had not yet sought a licence to issue vaccines.

About 30 days are needed to get a licence from the FDA to issue Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use only, he said.

"We have not yet received any request from the company for a licence, but hopefully it will happen shortly," the doctor said.

"Therefore, it is impossible to find the Pfizer vaccine here."

Dr Paisarn denied claims Mr Thaksin made online on Clubhouse that a small supply of Pfizer vaccine was already in the country for use by a select few people.

The government is in discussions with Pfizer to place an order for about 10 million doses which are expected to arrive in the country by the end of this year.

Currently, the FDA has already approved three Covid-19 vaccines, from AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Johnson&Johnson.

The agency is now considering a request from Moderna to register its vaccine.