Academy Leads Way Bangkok Post Editorial Column

The Chulabhorn Royal Academy's procurement of one million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine as an "alternative vaccine" for the country should be use as a model for the government in securing more such alternative vaccines.

With the help of the academy, Sinopharm is set to be the first alternative vaccine for the people. Thailand currently relies on two brands of Covid-19 vaccines -- Sinovac and AstraZeneca.

Unfortunately, the academy says its imported Sinopharm vaccine, which will be sold at cost, might not be available to individuals. Of the total one million doses to be imported next month, most have been booked by organisations such the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and PTT Plc for their staff.

Several local administration bodies have also reserved the vaccine, including Nonthaburi municipality with 200,000 doses, Pathum Thani provincial administration organisation with 500,000 doses and the Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial administration organisation with 100,000 doses.

This reflects high demand for alternative vaccines in the country, not only because of supply shortages in the main vaccine programme, but also a lack of trust in the vaccines which the government has bought.

A recent fumble in vaccination management has eroded pubic confidence in a government that keeps on changing its plans.

Last week, the government announced it would postpone second jabs for those who received a first jab of AstraZeneca from the standard recommendation of 10 weeks to 16 weeks. In the same week, the government cancelled registrations for a jab through the Mor Prom app and Line account, the main online platforms which the government used for registration, after the Mor Prom platform constantly played up, drawing many complaints.

This is why many people want alternative vaccines to ensure their vaccination in the light of surging new clusters of Covid-19 infections and a rising death toll.

Unfortunately, the government's policy is not conducive for securing alternative vaccines. Under the policy, any organisation which wants to procure a Covid vaccine directly cannot purchase the brands the government is using.

For example, an organisation cannot purchase Pfizer vaccine directly simply because the government will purchase the Pfizer vaccine for children aged under 18. That means other groups will have no chance to get any vaccine that the government has its eyes on.

It is about time the government removed the red tape getting in the way of vaccine registration. Without Chulabhorn Royal Academy's vaccine plan, people will not know that the process of vaccine registration can be fast-tracked and sped up.

Normally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes a few weeks to a month to approve vaccines, depending on how the manufacturers submit the required information for the FDA to check their quality and safety. As it happens, the FDA approved the registration of the Sinopharm vaccine submitted by Biogenetech Co for emergency use in Thailand on the same day the Chulabhorn Royal Academy held a press conference on its vaccine procurement plan, just eight days after submitting the details.

The process has gone smoothly, proving the government can do things better if it thinks outside the bureaucratic box. As buying a vaccine needs state support in various ways, the government should provide full support to any companies or organisations that want to secure alternative vaccines for the country.

This article was published in Bangkok Post dated 31 May 2021. Republished with permission from Bangkok Post.