Thailand receives vaccines from Singapore
Thailand’s mass vaccination programme has come under much scrutiny in recent months. The increased interest seems align with the government’s eagerness to reopen the country, which hinges on the country’s ability to achieve herd immunity.
Thailand is receiving vaccines from Singapore to facilitate the nation’s goal of inoculating 70% of the population by Q4.
Here’s what the deal is and what else the country is doing to ensure we’re all inoculated.
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Thailand to return “borrowed” vaccines at a later date
Thailand is expected to receive 122,400 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from Singapore this Saturday 25th September 2021.
An agreement was made between the two powers, whereby these inoculations a “loan”. Thailand is expected to eventually return the same amount of doses it received from Singapore.
This isn’t the first instance where Thailand has entered a bilateral vaccine-loan deal. Last month, the country leased 150,000 AstraZeneca doses from Bhutan, as written in The Thaiger.
In addition to vaccines, the island nation will also be providing Thailand with 200,000 Covid-19 Antigen Test Kits and 500,000 nasal swabs to be used in PCR tests.
Thailand aims to stretch vaccination supplies
Reports about the vaccination loan programme comes just days after a new vaccine protocol was introduced.
The Public Health Minister suggested injecting Covid-19 booster shots subcutaneously instead of intramuscularly on Monday 23rd September 2021, as published in the Straits Times.
The decision to inject booster vaccines into under the skin, as opposed to directly into the muscle, seems to come from the interest of maximising vaccine supplies.
Medical experts say that one dose can be used up to five times, so long as they’re injected intradermally.
Fighting against a common enemy
The world has been battling the current situation for almost two years now. From the very beginning, it was clear that the best chance we had against Covid-19 was fighting it as a team.
Nations have been working together in order combat the virus together.
We’re excited for the continued collaboration between countries, and are hopeful that the efforts will bring us some normalcy soon.
Cover images adapted from (L-R): International Disability Alliance, Travel In Singapore
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