Thailand said on Monday it will administer AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine as a second dose to people who have received Sinovac’s jab as their first dose to increase protection against the disease that has claimed more than four million lives across the world.
It would be the first publicly announced combination of China and western-developed vaccines if the plan is implemented.
“This is to improve protection against the Delta variant and build a high level of immunity against the disease,” health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters, adding that AstraZeneca dose will be given after a gap of three to four weeks of receiving Sinovac.
Thailand and other neighboring countries like Indonesia have reported a COVID-19 outbreak among health workers inoculated with Chinese vaccine in February this year.
The announcement of mixed jabs came a day after Thailand reported that 618 medical workers out of 677,348 personnel who completed their Sinovac vaccination contracted Covid-19 from April to July, international media reported. A nurse had died of infection while another health worker is said to be in critical condition.
The country also plans to administer mRNA booster shots to medical workers who received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine.
Thailand’s total number of cases has reached 345,027 while the death toll has surged to 2,791 fatalities.
