BANGKOK (NNT) - Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has personally received the first lot of 200,000 doses of China’s Sinovac at Suvarnabhumi Airport, as the kingdom readies to kick start its national vaccination campaign.
The vaccine boarded Thailand’s national carrier Thai Airways International’s flight TG675 from Beijing and safely arrived at the cargo bay of the airport this morning.
The receiving ceremony was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha, and Yang Xin, Charg d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy.
In addition to the Sinovac’s vaccine, Deputy Prime Minister Anutin revealed that another 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine will also arrived today.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, the second batch of 800,000 doses of Sinovac’s vaccine will arrive next month, and another batch of one million doses in April.
Historic day statements
Mr. Yang Xin, Charg d’Affaires of the Chinese Embassy, delivered statements, gist of which is as follows:
According to the Prime Minister, today was a historic day. With extremely high demand for COVID-19 vaccines, the Thai Government has put utmost effort to acquire the vaccines for Thai people. The Prime Minister affirmed that the imported vaccines have undergone quality test, and will need to go through a preparation process before being given to the prioritized groups of people. The upcoming lots will be imported according to the timeline confirmed by the Chargé D’affaires of the Chinese Embassy to Thailand and Ministry of Public Health.
Mr. Yang Xin expressed pleasure to have attended the ceremony, and emphasized that the first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to Thailand demonstrates close friendship between Thailand and China, as the country is the first ASEAN countries to receive vaccines through commercial channel.
This is also in line with President Xi Jinping’s intent to make the COVID-19 vaccines the global public goods accessible to all for everyone’s safety. He also thanked the Thai Government, Ministry of Public Health, and concerned public and private sectors and individuals for the timely delivery of vaccines. Nevertheless, with the ongoing situation of COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world has to continue its endeavor on preventing and curbing the disease spread, and recovering economic situation. Mr. Yang Xin affirmed the Chinese Government’s commitment to join forces with Thailand in fighting against COVID-19 in a bid to bring back people’s smiling faces.
Toward the ending, the Prime Minister thanked all concerned agencies, and confirmed Thailand’s readiness to help out other countries in ASEAN. The country will be safe, so will ASEAN and other regions. He also called on everyone to continue observing public healthcare etiquettes, that is, social distancing, washing hands, and wearing masks, until the disease is completely controlled.
ThaiGov
24/2/2021
