BANGKOK – The government has defended its COVID-19 vaccination plan on the second day of the censure debate, promising sufficient availability of domestically produced COVID-19 vaccine in Q3 this year.
Responding to opposition MPs’ motion on the second day of parliament’s censure debate, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul defended the government, saying it has not been sluggish in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine.
He said the government has been taking into consideration recommendations and vaccine efficacy data, before making the purchase decisions.
The Minister of Public Health elaborated on the deal to produce AstraZeneca’s vaccine in Thailand, by pharmaceutical company Siam Bioscience, that the type of AstraZeneca’s vaccine and the technology behind it are suitable for the country.
He said the decision to make Thailand a manufacturing base would benefit other countries in the ASEAN community as well, however the government is not involved in the deal between the two companies.
Mr. Anutin said the robust public health system in Thailand is capable of controlling the spread of COVID-19, no matter when the vaccine arrives in the country, while stressing that the 63 million doses the government has procured is a sufficient quantity, and will be safe for Thai people.
He said, by the third quarter this year, Thailand will have domestically produced vaccine available across the country, without the need to rely on imports. He also expressed concerns over the use of misinformation in the censure debate, which may have widespread consequences. (NNT)
