Thailand will start its coronavirus inoculation program next month by administering 50,000 doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine to high-risk groups, as it faces accusations of being too slow to secure doses.
"We will start with medical personnel and high-risk individuals and areas," senior health official Sopon Mekton, said.
Health workers in Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, would be the first to be inoculated, then elderly and people with chronic diseases.
Thailand's food and drug administration last week approved the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in conjunction with Oxford University for emergency use but has yet to grant authorisation for that of Sinovac, of which Thailand has ordered two million doses.
Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Monday said AstraZeneca would be supplying 50,000 fewer doses of the vaccine than the 200,000 Thailand had ordered.
"With the orders they have at hand, they just confirmed to us they would supply 150,000 doses," Anutin said.
Thailand has so far recorded 13,687 infections and 75 coronavirus deaths.
The government has been criticised for taking too long to procure vaccines while neighbours in Southeast Asia start vaccinations or race to secure supplies from multiple companies. The government has rejected the criticism.
Opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has said the strategy relied too much on one company, Siam Bioscience, a firm under the holdings of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, which will manufacture the Astrazeneca vaccine locally for regional distribution.
Australian Associated Press
