The first 2 million doses of government-purchased Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Thailand on Wednesday morning, with a total of 30 million doses to arrive by the end of this year, government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisoranakul said.
The shipment was delivered by DHL courier Flight 3L 350, which landed at Suvarnabhumi airport at 4.30am.
The vaccine was handed over to Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in the company of senior ministry officials, about 8am at the airport.
Mr Anutin said the 2 million doses were the first of the government's order for 30 million doses.
Pfizer would deliver another 6 million doses in October, followed by more on Wednesday of every week to complete the delivery of 30 million doses by the end of the year, he said.
Mr Anutin said Pfizer would deliver the vaccine to destinations nationwide set by the Disease Control Department. The buying price included door-to-door delivery.
The prime target is children aged 12-18 years, about 5 million in total, with 10 million doses of Pfizer vaccine reserved for them. The rest of the vaccine will be for the general public, as decided by the Disease Control Department.
The Pfizer vaccine will also be used in cross-vaccine formulas decided by a sub-committee on immunisation - Sinovac plus AstraZeneca or AstraZeneca plus Pfizer.
Mr Anutin said the first shipment would go to the Medical Sciences Department and the Food and Drug Administration for a verification process, before being delivered to target areas throughout the country. He expected inoculations with Pfizer vaccine to start next week.