1.54m US Covid vaccine doses arrive

1.54m US Covid vaccine doses arrive

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul inspect the Covid-19 vaccine shipment donated by the United States that arrived in Thailand on Friday morning. (Photo supplied)
Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul inspect the Covid-19 vaccine shipment donated by the United States that arrived in Thailand on Friday morning. (Photo supplied)

A total of 1.54 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and donated by the United States arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday morning.

Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and senior health officials were at the airport to accept the delivery .

The shipment arrived on flight 3S530 of AeroLogic airlines in containers refrigerated to -70 to -90 degrees Celsius, to preserve its efficacy.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha extended his gratitude to the US for the vaccine donation at a time when Thailand was facing a Covid-19 crisis. The doses would be administered only to frontline medical workers and targeted groups of people, not to VIPs, Ms Traisuree said.

She said 700,000 doses will be used for third, booster jabs for medical workers who treat Covid-19 patients nationwide; 645,000 doses for Thai people for whom a Covid-19 infection could be fatal; 150,000 doses for elderly people, patients with any of seven chronic illnesses, pregnant women at least 12 weeks into term; people who leave for countries that require inoculation with the Pfizer vaccine, including diplomats and students; 5,000 doses for research; and 40,000 doses kept in reserve to cope with viral mutations.

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