More Sinopharm jabs arrive in Thailand
The fifth batch of the 10 million doses ordered by the Chulabhorn Royal Academy arrived from China on Sunday. This batch had one million doses.
The academy is one of the five organisations authorised to import Covid-19 vaccines. Sinopharm, approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation, is one of the five vaccines given the go-ahead by the Thai Food and Drug Administration.
In cooperation with the Public Health Ministry and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the academy has been distributing the jabs to people in the capital at the set price of 1,554 baht for two doses.
Meanwhile, the delivery schedule of the Sinopharm vaccines is as follows:
June 20: 1 million
July 4: 1 million
July 18: 1 million
July 25: 1 million
August 1: 1 million
August 15: 1 million
August 22: 2 million
August 29: 2 million
The vaccine has been allocated as follows:
• 4.5 million doses allocated for corporations
• 3.9 million doses for local administration offices
• 114,068 jabs administered to the general public since July 28
• 351,047 jabs administered to vulnerable and underprivileged groups
The aim is to provide Sinopharm jabs free of charge to five targeted groups, namely:
• People with disabilities
• Underprivileged people living in crowded conditions
• Elderly, bed-ridden or chronic patients
• Monks
• People at risk who are unable to register on the official vaccination scheme.
Of the 10 million doses ordered, 8.9 million have been booked, while 1.1 million doses are still up for the taking.
The academy will launch a second round of registration this month for individuals and companies, which will be eligible to book 100 to 2,000 doses.
The academy is also considering providing Sinopharm jabs to children between the ages of three and 17, as the Chinese government has approved emergency use of the vaccine for this age range.
The Chulabhorn Royal Academy will gradually slow down the import of Sinopharm jabs once vaccines are more easily available later this year.
