Thailand to Make COVID-19 Vaccine for Southeast Asia

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Thailand says a local laboratory's pact with Britain's AstraZeneca will make the Southeast Asian country the regional hub for supplies of what's likely to be one of the leading vaccines against COVID-19 as governments scramble to lock in supplies.

Bangkok-based Siam Bioscience signed a letter of intent with AstraZeneca late last month to make 200 million doses of the British pharmaceutical firm's COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, said Nakorn Premsri, director of Thailand's National Vaccine Institute.

Thailand's Public Health Ministry and the local conglomerate SCG, with its packaging and chemicals divisions, also joined the deal.

Nakorn said most of the doses would head abroad.

"Thailand will secure only 26 million doses. We may ask for more, but it will not be a big part, so maybe more than half of that [200 million] can be exported," he told VOA.

"It's in the letter of intent that we made together with Siam Bioscience, AstraZeneca, SCG and Ministry of Public Health that it will be distributed within the ASEAN region," he added, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

In a brief statement  AstraZeneca's Thailand office confirmed the broad outlines of its plans.

"The Ministry of Public Health, SCG, Siam Bioscience and AstraZeneca share the focus on broad, equitable and timely access to an effective COVID-19 vaccine in Thailand and Southeast Asia region. AstraZeneca has been working with Siam Bioscience through technology transfer to expand AZD1222’s global manufacturing capacity," it said.

AstraZeneca's vaccine, developed in collaboration with Britain's Oxford University, is still pending approval in Britain. Officials there say regulators could reach a decision by early January.