BANGKOK (REUTERS) - Thailand is considering regulating the volume of locally manufactured AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines for export, a health official said on Wednesday (July 14), a move that could impact on supplies to other Asian countries.
Any attempt to regulate exports could further slow vaccine rollout to Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, which are also battling spikes in infections and supply disruptions caused by earlier export curbs imposed by India.
Nakorn Premsri, a key member of the National Vaccine Committee, told reporters when asked about a plan to place a quota on vaccine exports that the committee had "agreed in principle" on such a draft order.
"Right now, the order has not been issued yet," Nakorn said, adding that various agencies will need to review it and consider its impacts.
He did not address at what levels export quotas might be set. AstraZeneca Thailand said in late June that its partner Siam Bioscience, owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, will produce 180 million doses this year, just over a third for Thailand and two thirds for elsewhere in South-east Asia.
"Right now we will talk with the vaccine manufacturer so they can deliver the vaccine to Thailand in a suitable manner that matches the outbreak situation in the country," Nakorn told reporters.
Representatives for AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to a Reuters request to comment on Nakorn's statements.
Thailand is suffering its worst coronavirus outbreak yet, with more than 8,000 new cases reported on many days this month, putting a strain on healthcare and testing capacity in the densely populated capital Bangkok and surrounding provinces.
Thailand has been producing the AstraZeneca vaccine since June and will export it to several other countries in South-east Asia, as well as Taiwan. The Philippines and Malaysia are among countries that have experienced delays in delivery.
It delivered 6 million doses, as promised, to Thailand in June when the country's mass vaccine roll-out started, but it has so far fallen short of delivering the 10 million monthly doses that were expected from July onwards.
Thailand has recorded nearly 363,000 Covid-19 cases and 2,934 fatalities overall, the vast majority of those since early April, in an outbreak fuelled by both Alpha and Delta coronavirus variants.
