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BANGKOK: The Thai government defended on Sunday (February 14) its decision not to join the COVAX coronavirus vaccination program, sponsored by the World Health Organization, and said doing so would risk the country paying more for injections and face uncertainty about delivery times.
The government has been criticized by opposition politicians and protesters for its lack of transparency and for being too slow to procure vaccines. While the country of 66 million people has had a low number of cases and deaths, it is dealing with a second wave of infections.
Frontline healthcare workers will start receiving 2 million injections of imported Chinese Sinovac within a month, but mass vaccinations for the general population will not start until locally produced AstraZeneca doses are ready in June.
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Government spokesperson Anucha Buraphachaisri, responding to media reports that Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia to skip the WHO COVAX scheme, said that as a middle-income country, Thailand is not eligible to receive vaccines. free or cheap under the program.
“Buying vaccines directly from manufacturers is a suitable option … as it is more flexible,” Anucha said.
“If Thailand wants to join the COVAX program, it will have to pay for the vaccines itself on a high budget and there is also a risk,” he said, adding that the country had to make an advance payment without knowing the source of the vaccines and the delivery. dates. It did not specify the costs.
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In total, 190 countries have joined COVAX, which aims to ensure equitable access to vaccines during the pandemic. The plan is jointly managed by the GAVI alliance, WHO, the Coalition for Innovations in Epidemic Preparedness and UNICEF.
Thailand has so far neither received nor produced any vaccines, even as many of its neighbors have started getting vaccinated.
Thailand reported 166 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections to 24,571, with a death toll of 80.
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