Moderna jabs ready 'in third quarter'

The vaccine manufactured by US-based Moderna will be available for private buyers in Thailand in the third quarter of the year, according to the Private Hospital Association (PHA).

The vaccination timeline has been brought forward and the price hospitals would charge is tentatively put at 2,000 baht per shot, excluding insurance and service charges.

Chalerm Harnphanich, the association president and chief executive officer of Bangkok Chain Hospital, said the association had doubled its original order for five million doses of the Moderna vaccine via the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO).

Dr Chalerm said key information would be disclosed next week about the quantity of vaccine to be delivered, when the doses would arrive in Thailand and when the first shots would be given.

Once the vaccine order had been finalised, the association would be required to fully pay the GPO up front, he said. Exactly how much private hospitals would charge customers would also be announced next week but Dr Chalerm expected them to try to keep this close to the cost price.

He said there was no plan to import vaccines from other manufacturers.

The PHA said earlier the standard price of the vaccine would include the service fee for each hospital and insurance for any side-effects. The insurance would be valid for 90 days and won't cost more than 100 baht.