Thailand considering limits on AstraZeneca vaccine exports

Thailand is suffering its worst coronavirus outbreak yet, with hundreds of deaths in recent weeks and more than 8,000 new cases reported on many days this month - and only about 5% of its population of more than 66 million vaccinated. Thailand has been producing the AstraZeneca vaccine since June and is slated to export it to several other countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan.

Thailand is considering imposing limits on exports of locally manufactured AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines to fight its own crisis, an official said on Wednesday, a move likely to impact neighbors and stir concerns of vaccine protectionism. 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 Southeast 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 hundreds of deaths in recent weeks and more than 8,000 new cases reported on many days this month - and only about 5% of its population of more than 66 million vaccinated.

Thailand has been producing the AstraZeneca vaccine since June and is slated to export it to several other countries in Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan. The Philippines and Malaysia are among the countries that have experienced delivery delays. AstraZeneca delivered 6 million doses, as promised, to Thailand in June when the country's mass vaccine rollout started and a Thai official last month said a similar volume would be delivered in July, short of the previously announced 10 million monthly doses.

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 fueled by both Alpha and Delta coronavirus variants.