Thailand’s prime minister apologized and took the blame on Tuesday for coronavirus vaccination delays, while thousands of private companies and public organizations raced to secure doses imported by a royal-backed academy.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said holdups were caused by supply and distribution issues, after some hospitals in Bangkok were forced to postpone scheduled inoculations this week.
“I apologize for the problem and would like to take full responsibility for solving it,” Prayuth told reporters.
“We will try to manage this better going forward.”
So far 4.76 million of Thailand’s more than 66 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Thailand’s strategy relies heavily on a local firm, which is making the AstraZeneca vaccine for distribution in Southeast Asia, but has had to delay and downsize some deliveries.
Thailand has been scrambling to procure more vaccines and diversify brands in recent months.
Nearly 7,000 organizations, including private firms and provincial organizations, are seeking “alternative vaccines” from an academy chaired by Princess Chulabhorn, the academy said.
Opas Karnkawinpong of the Department of Disease Control said he expected 6.5 million doses of coronavirus vaccine would be distributed this month in total, of which 3.5 million had already been delivered.
