Chinese Covid-19 vaccine Sinovac gets local emergency use in Thailand

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration has approved Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Covid-19 vaccine for local emergency use ahead of the launch of a national inoculation program.

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration has approved Sinovac Biotech Ltd.’s Covid-19 vaccine for local emergency use ahead of the launch of a national inoculation program.

A health worker gets ready to collect samples during proactive testing of migrant workers at their work place, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Samut Sakhon province in Thailand. (REUTERS)

Thai FDA Secretary-General Paisarn Dunkum signed the emergency use approval on Monday ahead of the arrival of the first batch of 2 million doses of Sinovac shots ordered by Thailand on Wednesday. The authorization for Sinovac’s jabs is valid for one year, according to the approval letter by the drug regulator.

Thailand, which aims to inoculate 50% of its population by the end of this year, has already approved AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. The Southeast Asian nation has ordered 61 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be produced locally by Siam Bioscience Ltd. through technology transfer.