AstraZeneca commits to 1.8 mln Thai vaccine doses

Drugmaker AstraZeneca on June 2 said that it would soon provide Thailand with 1.8 million doses of locally manufactured COVID-19 vaccine, the first of multiple batches this month, just days away from the launch of the country's vaccination drive.

AstraZeneca vaccine (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Drugmaker AstraZeneca on June 2 saidthat it would soon provide Thailand with 1.8 million doses of locallymanufactured COVID-19 vaccine, the first of multiple batches this month, justdays away from the launch of the country's vaccination drive.

The joint announcement by AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience, afirm owned by Thailand's king, comes amid public anxiety about vaccinesupplies, as the country suffers its most severe outbreak so far, Reuters reported.

It did not say whether the Thai plant would make all 6million doses that Thailand's government has promised would be available thismonth, Reuters added.

The government's mass immunisation drive begins on June 7 and relies almost entirely on its reserved 61 million doses of AstraZenecavaccine, most of which it said would come from Siam Bioscience, which is makingvaccines for the first time.

The first delivery to the Philippines, which was promised 17million doses, was cut from 1.3 to 1.17 million doses and delayed from lateJune to mid-July, a Philippine presidential advisor told Reuters on June 1,citing Thai production delays./.
VNA

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