Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    World
    Home / World / Asia-Pacific

    Thailand welcomes first batch of Sinovac

    By YANG HAN and PRIME SARMIENTO in Hong Kong | China Daily | Updated: 2021-02-25 07:40
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha shows the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb 24, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Thailand welcomed the arrival of a Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, when neighboring Malaysia began mass vaccinations.

    In Bangkok, authorities took possession of 200,000 doses of a vaccine from Sinovac Biotech, putting the country on course to kick off a national inoculation campaign.

    Sinovac vaccine could prove "a big hand to help Thailand" in its fight against COVID-19, "especially in the areas with high transmission", said Thira Woratanarat, associate professor in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University.

    Thira noted that Thailand has been overwhelmed with a second wave of infections, with the problem worsened by delayed planning and negotiations with vaccine manufacturers.

    Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson for the Thai government's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said on Tuesday the 200,000 doses, excluding 16,300 to be stored in reserve, will be sent to 13 provinces with high infections rates and are economically significant.

    Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Chinese Embassy official Yang Xin attend the handover ceremony of the first batch of COVID-19 vaccines that Thailand ordered from China's Sinovac Biotech at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb 24, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The first group of people to get vaccinated includes medical workers, those in close contact with COVID-19 patients and people with certain chronic illnesses, and those aged 60 years or older, Xinhua reported.

    Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN Studies in the Bangkok-based Panyapiwat Institute of Management, said the shipment of Sinovac's vaccine is "a great move" for Thailand to jump start vaccinations and catch up with neighbors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that had already gotten off their campaigns.

    "With Sinovac in its list of suppliers, Thailand is in a better bargaining position in the global scramble for the vaccines in short supply," said Tang.

    When markets return to normal operating hours, the government discount packages to stimulate consumption will have a bigger multiplier effect. This would in turn boost business optimism and hopefully attract a new round of investments, said Tang.

    Three-phase program

    Separately, three days after the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government started rolling out its three-phase immunization program.

    Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin launched the country's inoculation drive by getting the first dose of the vaccine at the local health office. It was televised live by public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia.

    Over 500,000 frontliners are expected to get vaccinated during the first phase which will last until April. More vaccines from China are expected to be delivered in days.

    Leow Chiuan Yee, senior lecturer at the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine in Universiti Sains Malaysia, said public health data have shown a national immunization campaign has led to a drop in hospital admissions and reduced the risk of contracting a serious illness.

    "The hope is for the vaccine to improve (the economic) condition (of Malaysians)," said Serina Abdul Rahman, visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

    Serina said that the program might also lead to a reopening in borders, and allowing more sectors to recover. However, "the vaccine is not fail safe and there is the possibility of rising numbers of infections even if (more) are getting vaccinated."

    Most Viewed in 24 Hours
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    最新中文字幕AV无码不卡| 精品人妻无码一区二区色欲产成人| 色情无码WWW视频无码区小黄鸭 | 中文字幕有码无码AV| 亚洲国产精品成人精品无码区 | 亚洲va中文字幕无码久久 | 一本色道无码道在线观看| 亚洲高清有码中文字| 国产真人无码作爱视频免费| 成在人线av无码免费高潮喷水| 国色天香中文字幕在线视频| av无码一区二区三区| 午夜无码A级毛片免费视频| 最好看的最新高清中文视频 | 久久无码中文字幕东京热| 久久无码人妻一区二区三区 | 无码成人精品区在线观看 | 日本精品久久久中文字幕| 精品一区二区无码AV| 性无码一区二区三区在线观看| 久久中文精品无码中文字幕| 亚洲韩国—中文字幕| 日本按摩高潮a级中文片| 亚洲伊人成无码综合网| 国产精品无码无卡无需播放器| 欧洲Av无码放荡人妇网站| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区久久| 中文无码vs无码人妻| 亚洲精品欧美二区三区中文字幕| 精品久久久久久久久中文字幕 | 无码中文字幕av免费放dvd| 国产亚洲精久久久久久无码77777| 亚洲日本va午夜中文字幕久久 | 中文字幕无码乱人伦| 天天爽亚洲中文字幕| 精品久久久无码人妻中文字幕| 中文无码伦av中文字幕| 色婷婷综合久久久中文字幕 | 亚洲Av无码专区国产乱码不卡| 亚洲成在人线在线播放无码| 亚洲国产精品成人AV无码久久综合影院 |