Thailand gets 200,000 doses of India-made Covovax under Quad pact
A consignment of 200,000 doses of the India-made Covovax vaccine was handed to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Thursday under the Quad Vaccine Partnership.
Present at the handover ceremony were Indian Ambassador Suchitra Durai, Australian Ambassador Allan McKinnon, Japan Ambassador Nashida Kazuya and the United States Chargé d’Affaires James Wayman.
This is the second consignment of vaccines India has provided under the Quad partnership after delivering its first one to Cambodia on April 12.
The vaccines have been supplied in line with Indian PM Narendra Modi’s promise to donate 500,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines to countries in the Indo-Pacific region.
Modi made the commitment at the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Washington on September 24, 2021.
The vaccine partnership was announced by the Quad leaders at their first summit on March 12, 2021, to leverage collective strength to ensure equitable access to safe and effective vaccines.
Quad countries, namely Australia, Japan, India and United States, have provided Thailand with 4.5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses so far. They have also provided last-mile delivery assistance and monetary support to ensure the doses are translated into jabs.
Australia is helping Thailand deliver vaccines safely and effectively by strengthening data systems and developing communication strategies with a focus on migrant populations.
India has been providing oxygen concentrators and essential medicines.
Japan has also provided oxygen concentrators as well as high-quality equipment for vaccine storage and transport through “Last One Mile Support”.
The US has helped with surveillance and contact tracing, case investigation, training health care workers, and data management.
