Thai Cabinet sets aside Bt6 billion to buy 26 million Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca

[webfact]

Cabinet sets aside Bt6 billion to buy 26 million Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca

By The Nation

 

FILE PHOTO

 

The Cabinet has earmarked Bt6.05 billion from the national budget for emergency and necessities to reserve 26 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri announced on Tuesday.

 

Of the budget, Bt2.38 billion will be allocated to the National Vaccine Institute to reproduce the vaccine so the price can be brought down to US$5 (Bt150) from $20 per dose.

 

The remainder will be divided into Bt1.59 billion for reserving vaccines and Bt2.08 billion for management and distribution. The last amount will only be paid out once the vaccine is proved to be effective.

 

“The Cabinet has agreed to earmark funds for the purchase of vaccines from AstraZeneca because the Public Health Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with it. Thailand’s very own Siam Bioscience company is also preparing to produce vaccines,” he said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30398114

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-11-18

 

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[Jack Mountain]

$8 a shot, not cheap. How many are needed? Just one or do you need a booster ... at a price.

 

[PatOngo]

Well done! That will half vaccinate 30% of the population! 

[VocalNeal]

2 hours ago, Jack Mountain said:

$8 a shot, not cheap. How many are needed? Just one or do you need a booster ... at a price.

 

 

Pneumonia jab is around 2500 baht which is about 10 times that.

[Don Chance]

What about the China needle? Chinese have 5 vaccines in phase 3 testing. Soon there will be plenty of vaccines for everyone!

[hotchilli]

26 million doses.. and a population of?

I wonder who's going to dip-out....

[Nanaplaza666]

26milj doses wich i geuss are two shots needed so 13 milj people on a population of ?? And the grose from the money being set aside will go to the distribution network so i geuss in Anutins pocket . 

[Caldera]

Will dirty foreigners be able to buy the vaccine here in Thailand at a not-too-much inflated price?

 

What I'm concerned about is that I might need to get vaccinated at some point, as being vaccinated might well become a requirement for entering other countries when somewhat "normal" international travel resumes.

Edited November 18, 2020 by Caldera
Additional Thought

[moogradod]

I do not understand why they do not go for the vaccine from Moderna, produced by Lonza and being used by the USA. They will produce 400 Mio. doses a year with 50 Mio ready until even the end of this year - unfortunately a lot already fully reserved by the US. It is the gene manipulated kind.

 

But it is more readily available - this year. It is easier to store and transport (requires only partially -80 deg.) and seemingly 94.5% effective.

 

I fear for my wife and myself that at some point we would have to use vaccines from China or Russia. And that I would have to wait as a foreigner even with multiple highly risky predispositions. If I catch COVID I will almost surely die from it - otherwise all doctors would talk nonsense now.

[John Drake]

5 minutes ago, moogradod said:

I do not understand why they do not go for the vaccine from Moderna, produced by Lonza and being used by the USA.

 

China doesn't want Thailand buying anything from the US. So Thailand gets the vaccine that's a day late and a dollar short.

[Jack Mountain]

I want Sputnik V ... Personel note: email Russian embassy or there are opportunities.

[billd766]

8 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Well done! That will half vaccinate 30% of the population! 

I could hazard a guess as to which 30% will get done first and which other group will get innoculated last at 10 or more times the price that Thais will pay.

[ourmanflint]

What happened to the plan of Thailand becoming the distribution and manufacturing hub for the vaccine that was touted a few weeks back? 

[riclag]

It doesn't give a percentage of its effectiveness ????

[Jack Mountain]

48 minutes ago, Naturesway said:

I always said your health should be your business only, so don’t spend and waste your money and the people’s money for something <deleted>! 

In cases where it concerns a contageous desease where the virus only can be beaten when a certain percentage of the population got vaccinated.

 

In that case you can't say it's only your own business and I wouldn't be surprised when too many scary people are refusing a shot that it will be mandatory.

 

I wished they would have done that when the polio virus was around, too many people (children) died because there parents refused to vaccinate them because of religious reasons.

 

Edited November 18, 2020 by Jack Mountain

[supersomchai]

It could well be that vaccinations certificates will be the quick passport to international travel and being allowed in,

we shall see ....anti vacs stay home ????????????

[samsensam]

12 hours ago, hotchilli said:

26 million doses.. and a population of?

I wonder who's going to dip-out....

 

26 million doses is enough for 13 million people - just over the population of bangkok (!), they need to order a few more... what's worrying is that most countries put in their vaccine orders months ago so the thai order will be behind all those already ordered. the uk plans to start vaccination eary december, with the vaccines only just ordered who knows when the thai vaccination programme will begin...? and do they have the infrastructure to transport and store the vaccines at the extremely low temperatures at hospitals and clinics up country?

Edited November 18, 2020 by samsensam

[samsensam]

13 minutes ago, supersomchai said:

It could well be that vaccinations certificates will be the quick passport to international travel and being allowed in,

we shall see ....anti vacs stay home ????????????

 

anti vaxxers probably aren't the type of people that feel comfortable travelling abroad, what with all those foreign people with their strange ways, better off hunkered down at home...

[GroveHillWanderer]

On 11/18/2020 at 11:02 AM, Mises said:

Yes, The Astra Zeneca vaccine requires 2 shots so only 13 million people.  It also has to be stored at -80C, good luck with that.

No, it doesn't. You're thinking of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

 

As mentioned in this Daily Telegraph article, the Astra Zeneca/Oxford University vaccine has a big advantage over the vaccines that need ultra-cold storage, as their product should be storable in a regular refrigerator at between 2 and 8 degrees celsius.

 

Oxford vaccine

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

17 hours ago, samsensam said:

and do they have the infrastructure to transport and store the vaccines at the extremely low temperatures at hospitals and clinics up country?

The Astra Zeneca vaccine does not require extremely low temperatures. It is intended to be storable in a regular fridge, as I mentioned in my previous post.

[Orient Express]

On 11/17/2020 at 9:14 PM, webfact said:

The Cabinet has earmarked Bt6.05 billion from the national budget for emergency and necessities to reserve 26 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri announced on Tuesday.

 

Of the budget, Bt2.38 billion will be allocated to the National Vaccine Institute to reproduce the vaccine so the price can be brought down to US$5 (Bt150) from $20 per dose.

 

The remainder will be divided into Bt1.59 billion for reserving vaccines and Bt2.08 billion for management and distribution. The last amount will only be paid out once the vaccine is proved to be effective.

 

 

 

On 11/17/2020 at 9:27 PM, Jack Mountain said:

$8 a shot, not cheap. How many are needed? Just one or do you need a booster ... at a price.

 

 

Some strange maths there. The Nation article refers to USD 20 (?) a dose. The purchase price - using their figures - is 1.59 billion baht for 26 million doses, or 61 baht - USD 2 - a dose (presumably it is priced in USD). The Financial Times quotes other deals for this vaccine at USD 3 - 4  a dose, so this seems to be a good deal.

 

The 2.08 billion baht is for internal distribution costs once they have the vaccine, and the 2.38 billion baht allocated to the National Vaccine Institute has nothing to do with this current purchase deal at all.

 

The AZ-Oxford vaccine will be a great move if it works, since it is by far the cheapest option, at least of the western-developed vaccines, and it does not require super-cold special storage, so much easier to manage and deliver.

[GroveHillWanderer]

The Oxford University/Astra Zeneca vaccine is not an mRNA vaccine (it's a viral vector vaccine).

 

Also, even if it were, the stories about mRNA vaccines being capable of altering a person's DNA are scientifically incorrect.

 

What's known as the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, as established by Francis Crick (who won the Nobel Prize with James Watson for the paper proposing the double helix structure of DNA) is often stated as:

 

"DNA makes RNA and RNA makes protein."

 

It doesn't go the other way; RNA cannot make or modify DNA - except with a tiny number of exceptions involving the use of reverse transcriptase, which neither the SARS-CoV-2 virus (nor its spike protein) contains.

Edited November 23, 2020 by onthedarkside
quote from hidden post removed

[UB40]

On 11/19/2020 at 11:36 AM, GroveHillWanderer said:

The Oxford University/Astra Zeneca vaccine is not an mRNA vaccine (it's a viral vector vaccine).

 

Also, even if it were, the stories about mRNA vaccines being capable of altering a person's DNA are scientifically incorrect.

 

What's known as the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology, as established by Francis Crick (who won the Nobel Prize with James Watson for the paper proposing the double helix structure of DNA) is often stated as:

 

"DNA makes RNA and RNA makes protein."

 

It doesn't go the other way; RNA cannot make or modify DNA - except with a tiny number of exceptions involving the use of reverse transcriptase, which neither the SARS-CoV-2 virus (nor its spike protein) contains.

Ok, you go and check, what's inside. About 20 different manufacturers are running to make the big deal.

Even China is on the market with their first "copies". Who's going to tell the people 100% exactly, what their injection contains. I don't wanna be a victim. I wanna survive and smile.

Up to you ... go and get it. Good luck

[Soikhaonoiken]

Didn’t they report recently that a Thai Company was on the verge of producing a vaccine and it was in its final stage of testing..... If so why are they buying a vaccine from the UK Company,.... Or were they telling fairy-tales again... 

[GroveHillWanderer]

13 hours ago, UB40 said:

Ok, you go and check, what's inside. About 20 different manufacturers are running to make the big deal.

Even China is on the market with their first "copies". Who's going to tell the people 100% exactly, what their injection contains. I don't wanna be a victim. I wanna survive and smile.

Up to you ... go and get it. Good luck

I have checked - what's inside is a part of the genetic code for the spike protein's RNA sequence.

 

As mentioned, a firmly established tenet of molecular biology (its Central Dogma, in fact) is that RNA does not create DNA. So there's no way even the entire, active RNA of SARS-CoV-2 can alter human DNA, let alone a small portion of the spike protein's genome.

[metisdead]

A post using a video from an unapproved YouTube source and the replies have been removed.

[fondue zoo]

On 11/18/2020 at 6:27 PM, riclag said:

It doesn't give a percentage of its effectiveness ????

it's made with bits of real virus, so you know it's good. 

They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time. 

[GroveHillWanderer]

On 11/19/2020 at 11:09 AM, Enlil said:

Its a hoax, market stock plays, current vaccines are far from ready, main problems are they need to be stored in sub zero temp at all times, they not stable, handling and logistics problem. 

 

As well they useless, flu vaccine didnt stop flu 

Not all of them need sub-zero temperatures - in fact the one that's the subject of this thread, the AstraZeneca vaccine, doesn't.

 

Also, flu vaccines are fundamentally different to the vaccines being developed for this coronavirus.

 

There are dozens of different flu strains and each requires a different vaccine. The flu vaccines  that are rolled out each year are chosen in advance of the flu season, before they even know which strains are going to be prevalent in that season. So it's essentially a guess - and one which they often get wrong. 

Edited November 21, 2020 by GroveHillWanderer

[DirtyHarry55]

Thailand has one of the lowest COVID19 mortality rates in the World

and a few Vaccines have been announced will be available very soon probably December

but they will be administered to those in the most need first.

I wonder will Thailand be one of the last to get the COVID19 Vaccine having so few cases??

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by DirtyHarry55

[Virt]

On 11/19/2020 at 5:09 AM, Enlil said:

Its a hoax, market stock plays, current vaccines are far from ready, main problems are they need to be stored in sub zero temp at all times, they not stable, handling and logistics problem. 

 

As well they useless, flu vaccine didnt stop flu 

 

Is it not just Pfizer which vaccine needs to be stored at - 70 celcius? 

 

That could cause some logistic issue, which makes sense for Thailand to buy from Astra, if that vaccine can be stored at more normal temperatures. 

Didn't look into that yet. 

 

As for the normal flu shot not working. There are a few simple reasons why that is the case. The yearly flu shot does not cover all types, plus not everyone develops anti bodies even if vaccinated. 

In general the flu shot prevents a lot of flu cases during the elderly population in the risk group every year, and if we didn't have a flu vaccine, you would see  more deaths every year, far greater than covid 19, so don't dizz vaccines. 

 

As for stocks. Well yeah there is a chance to win or lose on that roulette and I jumped on that wagon too. 

 

Personally I bought stocks in Pfizer, Moderna and Astra zeneca, but I hope that all vaccines is a success no matter if it's other companies, than those I invested in. 

 

We need to get this world up and running again, and vaccines could be a major step. 

 

If you don't want a shot, it's fine.

It's up to people if they want it or not. Heck even my old mom refuse to get it even if she is in the risk group and also have close friends that refuse.

 

Personally I'm getting a shot when it's released for my age group and in the meantime i have the chance to monitor if fever is the worst side effect, which is acceptable. 

 

If Thailand bought 30 million doses that wouldn't cover the entire risk group if 2 shots needed , but if it could protect 15 million Thais that want the vaccine it's a good start. 

 

Hopefully it will lead to open borders again.

 

I miss travelling.....