China is seeking approval for its Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to be used in Thailand. Documents have been submitted and Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration secretary general Paisal Dunkhum says the vaccine will be reviewed for its quality, safety, and efficacy. He says he expects a decision on whether to approve the vaccine for use to be made within the next month.
The vaccine, manufactured by the China National Pharmaceutical Group known as Sinopharm, has been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation.
So far, the Thai FDA has approved for the emergency use of Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccine, Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Moderna vaccine, and AstraZeneca vaccine, which is now being produced locally by Siam Bioscience. Sinovac and AstraZeneca vaccines are currently being used in Thailand’s nationwide immunisation programme. India’s Covaxin vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine are also in the process of being approved for use in Thailand.