The latest drive comes amid growing public criticism of the slow rollout of free vaccinations offered by the government, which stands at 1.73 million shots so far - less than 1% of its population. Health authorities have yet to start mass vaccinations even as the tourism-reliant country struggles with a third wave of infections. The government expects 61 million shots of AstraZeneca to be produced locally from June. Moderna last month applied for vaccine registration in Thailand, which should be approved soon, said Withoon Danwiboon, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization. India's Bharat Biotech has started the application process for vaccine registration while China's Sinopharm has yet to apply, he said.

Source: bd News24 May 08, 2021 08:15 UTC