Thailand will import Moderna vaccine

Thailand will add another powerful tool to fight the spread of COVID-19 as local private hospitals have reached an agreement with Moderna to begin importing its vaccine this fall.

Private hospitals are expected to import between five and six million doses of the Moderna formulation during the second half of this year, said Paiboon Aeksaengsri, Secretary-General of the Private Hospital Association. The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Moderna’s vaccine last week.

Thailand has now approved four vaccines from four pharmaceutical companies: AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. The FDA is reviewing the vaccine made by Pfizer for approval. In addition, Thai researchers are rapidly developing a domestically produced candidate vaccine.

A Thai company, Siam Bioscience, has been licensed by AstraZeneca to produce its vaccine in Thailand. The vaccines they have turned out recently passed quality control inspections in American and European labs, and distribution in Thailand should begin next month.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has pledged to have at least half of the Kingdom’s 69 million people vaccinated by the end of this year.

COVID-19 cases in Thailand is low compared to many other countries, but strict measures have been put back in place in affected provinces to contain the current spread of the virus.

Photo courtesy of https://www.med.cmu.ac.th/