US TO DONATE MORE COVID VACCINE TO THAILAND, MFA SAYS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the U.S. government is willing to donate up to a million COVID vaccine doses to Thailand, on top of 2.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine already donated by the Americans earlier this year.

Foreign affairs minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters the doses are likely to be the mRNA vaccine made by Moderna. The Public Health Ministry will propose the offer to the Cabinet and prepare all the necessary processes, Don said.

The foreign ministry previously came under fire for seemingly blocking efforts by the Polish government to donate 1 million Moderna doses to Thailand through Thammasat University Hospital.

The ministry later insisted it was only advising the hospital that the shipment can only be accepted through proper bureaucratic channels. But without the MFA’s assistance, Thammasat University Hospital said it had to decline the donation offered by the Polish government.

It is unclear when the next shipment of donated vaccines from the United States will arrive in Thailand. Don said the time frame will depend on paperwork and bureaucratic procedures.

The U.S. donated 1 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to Thailand in July and another shipment of 1.5 million doses in late October.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES