Thai PM Among The First To Receive Oxford-Astrazeneca Vaccine On Tuesday

By Linda Khoo Hui Li BANGKOK, March 15 (Bernama) -- Thailand is to begin administering Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday after a brief delay due to concerns over its safety, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan o-cha and members of his cabinet being among the first to receive the vaccine jab. Virology expert from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University Prof Dr Yong Poovorawan will administer the vaccine to Prayuth at the Government House at 8.30 am (local time), announced Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Earlier, Anutin had said many countries continue administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as there were no proof the vaccine caused blood clots as claimed. Last Friday, Thailand delayed the Oxford-AstraZeneca roll-out following a suspension of inoculations using the vaccine in some European countries including Denmark, Norway and Iceland over blood clot issues. Thailand received 200,000 doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine and 117,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Feb 24. The vaccination drive using Sinovac vaccine started on Feb 28 for frontline medical personnel and high-risk groups while Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine underwent quality assurance process and the roll-out initially slated for last Friday. Thailand plans to start mass vaccination with 61 million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by local firm Siam Bioscience Co Ltd in June and aims to vaccinate 50 per cent of its population by year-end. In his Facebook page, Anutin said mass inoculation using Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will begin this week. He added that another 800,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine is scheduled to arrive on March 20. Meanwhile, Anutin said the Public Health Ministry is in negotiations to order an additional 5 million doses of Sinovac vaccine before the production of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine locally. He added that the ministry is also in negotiations with other vaccine manufactures to procure vaccines. -- BERNAMA