Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been using diplomatic channels to procure COVID-19 vaccines and other aid from partner countries.
Ministry spokesman ThaneeSaengrat said the ministry has been strengthening ties with the US, China, Japan, India, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Russia, who, in turn, have been providing COVID-19 vaccines and other necessities to help Thailand combat the pandemic.
He said China has donated more than 7.5 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine to Thailand and has helped facilitate the purchase and timely delivery of more Sinovac and Sinopharm doses. Japan gave 1.05 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to the country in early July. The US donated 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine on July 30th and has promised another 1 million doses, plus a $5 million cash donation to Thailand’s COVID-19 fund.
In early August, the United Kingdom donated 415,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while Bhutan agreed to enter a vaccine swap deal, which will see it delivering 105,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Thailand. Switzerland donated 102 ventilators and 1.1 million rapid antigen test kits during an official visit by the Swiss vice president and foreign minister to Thailand from August 1st to 3rd.
The spokesman added that the ministry has also negotiated with the German government to obtain 2,000 sets of Casirivimab/Imdevim monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms. Meanwhile, the ministry is seeking cooperation with India, South Korea and Australia to procure more vaccines for the country. (NNT)
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