Some 1.9 million doses of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine, imported as an alternative vaccine for private hospitals, will arrive in the last quarter of this year, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) said.
The GPO said it has received confirmation from Zuellig Pharma Co, the vaccine's authorised distributor, of the timeframe for the first lots of the vaccine.
The 1.9 million doses will be progressively shipped to Thailand from October through to December, the GPO said, adding this will be followed by the delivery of 3.1 million Moderna doses during the first quarter of next year. The orders were made by private hospitals via the GPO.
The Moderna vaccine is to satisfy soaring local demand for vaccines produced using mRNA technology. Tentatively, the price charged for the vaccine is expected to be around 2,000 baht per shot, excluding insurance and service charges.
According to the GPO, Zuellig Pharma has constantly been in contact with the manufacturer and was making sure the vaccine can be supplied starting from October.
This alternative supply will reinforce the country's vaccine security as more than 30 million people have been inoculated already, the GPO said in a statement to reporters.
The timeframe for the Moderna vaccine deliveries would serve as a confidence booster for those people who have booked their jabs with private hospitals and paid for them in advance.