BANGKOK, Sept 20 (TNA) – The first dose of COVID-19 vaccination for Thais next month will be the vaccine made by Sinovac, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
The plan for the Sinovac vaccine to be the first dose for COVID-19 vaccination resulted from Thailand’s order for 12 million doses from Sinovac. Of the amount, 9 million doses will be delivered this month and 3 million more doses will arrive next month, Mr Anutin said.
The government decided to use the Sinovac vaccine as the first dose and the vaccine made by AstraZeneca as the second dose so that people can be fully vaccinated sooner, within 3-4 weeks after their first injection, he said.
Within October every first jab would come from the Sinovac vaccine and in eight weeks the second dose would be administered, Mr Anutin said.
The mix-and-match vaccine administration would stimulate antibodies to the same level boosted by two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Adequate COVID-19 vaccinations would be done in Thailand in early November at the latest, Mr Anutin said. (TNA)
