Thailand in talks to buy COVID-19 vaccines from European nations

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand is in talks with European countries to purchase millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines, a health official said on Thursday, as the Southeast Asian nation tries to speed up its inoculation rollout to contain a wave of infections.

Authorities in Thailand have been scrambling to shore up vaccine supplies, despite the country being the production hub for AstraZeneca shots in the region. Last week, the government said it would borrow https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/short-vaccines-thailand-seeks-borrow-bhutan-2021-08-16 150,000 AstraZeneca doses from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

“Some countries may have a surplus of AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines and will be able to sell two to three million doses each month,” senior health official Kiattiphum Wongrajit told a briefing.

Kiattiphum did not specify any European countries involved in the talks.

So far,…