Thailand gets 1st batch of COVID-19 vaccine from China

By Pizaro Gozali Idrus

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – Thailand on Wednesday received the first batch of coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac.

The first 200,000 doses of the vaccine arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport, where Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and other high-ranking officials were also present to receive the shipment.

A Thai Airways plane carrying the vaccine from Beijing landed at the airport at 10:05 a.m. local time (0305GMT).

"Today is a historic day with the reception of the first batch of vaccines. We will have enough vaccine to develop herd immunity," said Prayut.

The shipment was a part of the 2 million doses worth 1.2 billion Thai baht ($40 million) to be received from the Chinese firm.

Thailand will begin a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign starting next Monday by prioritizing healthcare workers and citizens aged 18-59 years in 13 provinces.

The provinces include Samut Sakhon, Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Tak, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi, Chon Buri, Phuket, Surat Thani and Chiang Mai.

So far, Thailand has recorded 25,692 COVID-19 cases and 83 fatalities.

*Writing by Maria Elisa Hospita from Anadolu Agency's Indonesian language service.