BANGKOK – A Thai private hospital was ordered on Sunday to stop putting COVID-19 vaccinations up for sale because no vaccine has yet been approved in Thailand.
Vibhavadi Hospital told Reuters that its online offer for 1,000 initial reservations for the two-dose Moderna vaccine was the result of a misunderstanding. With reservations of 4,000 baht, the total cost to get vaccinated would have been 10,000 baht ($ 330).
As the first governments begin rolling out vaccines around the world, questions have arisen about how to prioritize the limited supplies and whether people will be able to pay to jump in line.
The Ministry of Health said in a statement that no COVID-19 vaccine had yet been approved for use in Thailand and that advertising violated hospital regulations.
“The ad’s removal had been ordered,” he said.
Chaisit Kupwiwat, a director of Vibhavadi Hospital, told Reuters: “There was a misunderstanding and so we stopped the program … We intended to order the vaccines, but now we have stopped.”
The hospital had made a January 31 reservation for vaccinations later in 2021.
Moderna did not immediately respond to an email request for comment on such a sale.
Thailand has signed an advance agreement for AstraZeneca’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, but has not yet established any vaccine rollout plans.
Moderna’s vaccine became the second vaccine this month to receive approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines.
Moderna has said it will deliver approximately 20 million doses to the U.S. government this year and is expected to deliver between 100 million and 125 million worldwide in the first quarter of 2021.
In August, Moderna said it was pricing its vaccine at $ 32 to $ 37 per dose on smaller deals.
Thailand is a major hub for medical tourism, attracting patients from Asia, the Middle East and beyond.
(Additional reporting by Jiraporn Kuhakan; writing by Matthew Tostevin; edited by Jason Neely)
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