News Desk
On Wednesday Thailand received its first 200,000 doses of Sinovac Biotech’s CoronaVac, the country’s first batch of coronavirus vaccines, with inoculations set to begin in a few days.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is expected to be among the first to receive the vaccine this weekend. Most doses have been reserved for frontline medical workers. “Thank you to the People’s Republic of China for delivering the vaccine this month and subsequent months,” Prayuth said on the tarmac at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where a refrigerated container bearing the flags of the two countries was lowered from a Thai Airways plane.
Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul earlier this week said 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine would also arrive on Wednesday and that Prayuth would be among the first recipients. Thailand is expecting to take delivery of a further 1.8 doses of CoronaVac in March and April, to be given mainly to health workers and at-risk groups.
