The show must go on. This maxim may explain the reason why Dr Boon Vanasin, chairman of Thonburi Healthcare Group, came out again on Aug 3 to talk to the Thai media with a new claim that he was in the process of signing a deal with the Defence Ministry to procure an unspecified amount of the mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for import into Thailand.
The claim came more than two weeks after he told the BBC that his company, THG, was about to sign a deal with Pfizer-BioNTech in Germany to procure 20 million doses of the mRNA vaccine together with an unnamed state agency which would be the legal importer of the vaccine.
Dr Boon said the name of the governmental agency would be disclosed after the procurement deal was signed, expected on July 16. He also credited an adviser to Foreign Minister Don Pramudvinai for making the deal come about.
Amplified by a few Thai media personalities, the vaccine deal came to look so real that many stock investors scrambled to buy THG shares, boosting the share price substantially, until the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) issued a statement denying any involvement in the deal with THG.
No deal was signed on July 16 as Dr Boon claimed the documents, about 40 pages altogether, required closer scrutiny.
However on July 15, both Pfizer in the US and BioNTech in Germany told Reuters in an e-mail that they had never engaged in vaccine talks with THG nor granted the right to any entities or individuals to market or distribute their vaccine.
Dr Boon has said little since about the deal, raising questions about whether it ever existed.
As mild doubts steadily turned to outright suspicion, especially among share investors as they offloaded their shares to cut losses, Dr Boon re-emerged on Aug 3 with talk about a deal with the Defence Ministry. He also claimed he had lost about 600 million baht from contractual violations in the previous deal.
On the same night, however, the THG secretary issued a statement, claiming the chairman had never told Kom Chad Luek newspaper about the deal with the Defence Ministry. It asked its online news outlet which carried a report of the deal to issue a retraction.
THG also informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand there was no such deal with the Defence Ministry, adding the company was still trying to procure the 20 million doses of Pfizer from foreign distributors.
Under the present circumstances when most media are struggling to survive due to digital disruption compounded by the economic impacts of Covid-19, it came as little surprise that most outlets were happy to issue such retractions.
The following day, the Defence Ministry denied it had entered into a vaccine deal with Dr Boon's THG.
So, which side, the Defence Ministry or Dr Boon, is telling the truth?
Last Wednesday, he told TV Channel 9's Johluek Tourthai Inside Thailand programme that he was not negotiating with the US about the 20 million doses of Pfizer mRNA vaccine, but with 7-8 small dealers in Spain and Switzerland who have special vaccine quotas.
However, he admitted that there is a 90% chance the vaccine deal will fail because, under Thai law, no single state agency is legally authorised to enter into a contract with vaccine producers.
He also claimed there are about 20 state entities which can import vaccines into Thailand, but none are willing to help him out.
Is Dr Boon trying to explain away his dubious claims about the vaccine deal by blaming the government for not making it come true?
So, a doctor who turned full-time businessman is claiming his top priority is buying the mRNA vaccine, but not to make huge profits, you understand, but to save Thais from the pandemic. You can buy his story or dismiss as you wish.
Regardless of his intention, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked him to clarify the deal with the Defence Ministry.
Last but not least is the fact that Dr Boon's private hospital sits on the national vaccine committee appointed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
A bigger question is: Is it appropriate for a member of the committee on Covid vaccines to be engaged in procuring alternative vaccines for a commercial purpose?
This issue also serves as lesson for the media and its consumers. The webpage administrator of "Germany Insights", a Thai language webpage, has made an astute observation.
The writer went straight to the source and asked the vaccine producers about the supposed deal for 20 million vaccines.
He asked why the Thai media had not sought confirmation from Pfizer and BioNTech.
In this case, Thai news consumers should be wary, as it seems shallow instant journalism is compromising the quality of news coverage on offer.
As far as Dr Boon is concerned, the show must stop now. The party is over.
Veera Prateepchaikul is former editor, Bangkok Post.