BANGKOK, Aug 30 (TNA) – The Public Health Ministry plans to acquire second-generation vaccines in the first quarter of next year to cope with COVID-19 mutations.
Announcing the COVID-19 vaccine procurement plan, Dr. Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said that the government’s COVID-19 vaccine acquisition committee agreed that the country would no longer order first-generation vaccines but would try to buy the new vaccines that could cope with viral mutations.
The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration approved the acquisition of second-generation vaccines for 120 million more doses. The National Vaccine Institute will order all types of vaccines including mRNA, viral vector and inactivated vaccines. It intends to buy 50 million doses each from Pfizer and AstraZeneca and more from other producers and expects deliveries in the first quarter of 2022.
The institute also supports the local development of four COVID-19 vaccines which have reached the stage of human trials and made good progress. (TNA)
