Pregnant women, seniors to get 1.5m Pfizer jabs donated by US
The government plans to distribute 1.5 million doses of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine donated by the US government to pregnant women and seniors aged 60 and over in high-infection areas.
Leaked minutes from an official meeting on Sunday show the 1.5 million doses will arrive in Thailand this month before being distributed in July and August.
The minutes also record a senior official apparently advising the government not to give the Pfizer vaccine to doctors, saying “it will imply that the quality of the Sinovac vaccine given to them earlier is low, and it will be difficult for us to find a reasonable excuse”.
The comment sparked outrage on social media. At least two front line medics have reportedly been infected with Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated with Sinovac.
The minutes also note that possible side effects from the Pfizer vaccine – including headache, chills, nausea and fever – tend to affect males more than females.
A gap between the first and second jabs is three weeks. The leaked minutes also specified that the vaccine will be stored at -60 to -90 degrees Celsius.
The donated vaccine will be targeted at seniors and those over 12 weeks pregnant who live in a Covid-19 red zone or Bangkok and its vicinity.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul admitted today that the leaked minutes were genuine. However, no final decision has been made about the use of Pfizer vaccine, he added.
