Thailand to secure more Covid vaccines

Bangkok, July 7 Thailand has approved plans to purchase more Covid-19 vaccines, including Pfizer, Sinovac and Moderna, as the country is battling to contain a months-long resurgence.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday approved the purchase of 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccines from the US, with the delivery scheduled within the fourth quarter of this year, said Udom Khachinthorn, an adviser to the Centre for the Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

The country has planned to administer the Pfizer vaccine as the third shot to medical workers and those who have to make contact with infected patients at work, Xinhua news agency quoted Udom as saying.

The Cabinet also endorsed the planned purchase of five million doses of Moderna vaccine from the US and more Sinovac vaccines from China.

The Southeast Asian country is struggling to contain the third wave of the pandemic, the worst since the pandemic began, as the total tally of infections surged from less than 30,000 at the beginning of April to nearly 300,000.

On Tuesday, the country reported 5,420 new cases, raising the total case tally to 294,653.

The death toll increased by 57 to 2,333, according to the CCSA.

Thailand detected 1,838 cases of Delta variant between April 27 and July 2, of which 1,309 were found in capital Bangkok.

As of Monday, the country has administered more than 11 million doses of vaccines.

It aims to inoculate about 70 per cent of its nearly 70 million people by the end of the year.