Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given emergency use authorisation for the Covid-19 vaccine of Moderna, an FDA official said.
The vaccine is the fourth coronavirus vaccine approved so far in the country. Its use is valid for one year from May 13, said Paisan Dankhu, the secretary general of the Food and Drug Administration.
The approval will pave the way for commercial vaccinations by private hospitals, which have been given the green light to give Covid shots made by Thai FDA-approved manufacturers other than Sinovac Biotec (CoronaVac), Astrazeneca (Vaxzevria, Covishield), Pfizer (Comirnaty), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) and Gamaleya (Sputnik V). The first two are being given to people in Thailand while the other three are being imported for free vaccinations by the government.
That leaves the private hospitals with the choice of Moderna and Sinopharm, among others.
The Private Hospital Association said earlier their member hospitals would charge a standard price of not more than 3,000 baht per person. The price is for two shots, including insurance and valued-added tax.
The Government Pharmaceuticals Organization will act as the middle man to import the vaccines of their choice for them since most vaccine manufacturers do not sell directly to companies.
The Thai FDA earlier approved the vaccines made by AstraZeneca Thailand on Jan 20 this year, Sinovac Biotech imported by GPO on Feb 22 and Johnson & Johnson on March 27.