Two million doses of government-purchased Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine landed in Thailand early Wednesday morning.
The vaccines are part of 30 million doses to be obtained by the end of this year, government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisoranakul said.
The shipment arrived via international courier before dawn, then was later handed over to Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in the company of senior ministry officials.
Mr Anutin said Pfizer will deliver another 6 million doses in October, followed by more every week until completing delivery of the full 30 million.
One-third of the total, 10 million doses, is reserved for children aged 12-18 years. The rest will be for the general public as determined by the Disease Control Department.
The Pfizer vaccine will also be used in cross-vaccine formulas decided by a sub-committee on immunisation: Sinovac plus AstraZeneca, or AstraZeneca plus Pfizer.
Mr Anutin said the first shipment would go to the Medical Sciences Department and the Food and Drug Administration for a verification process, before being delivered to target areas throughout the country. He expected inoculations with the Pfizer vaccine to start next week.
