The government plans to buy 2.9 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer for children aged from six months to four years.
Meanwhile, approval for the use of Sinovac vaccine for young children is expected next month.
Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Friday that the government was adjusting its vaccine procurement contract with Pfizer to obtain 2.9 million doses for children aged from six months to four years.
However, the Food and Drug Administration had yet to approve the Pfizer vaccine’s administration to young children. Vials of the vaccine for such young recipients would have dark red caps, he said.
The contractual change would be a swap for 3.5 million doses that Pfizer had yet to deliver for people aged 12 years and over as earlier contracted.
The remaining 590,000 doses would be for vaccine for children aged 5-11 years, Dr Taweesilp said.
If the FDA did not approve the vaccine for use with babies and children up to 4 years, the 3.5 million doses under the contract would be for children aged 5-11 years, he said.
For parents who preferred inactivated virus vaccine to other kinds of Covid-19 vaccine, Dr Taweesilp said, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation had already sought FDA approval for the administration of the Sinovac vaccine tor children under six years. A decision was expected next month.
The country had 3.36 million doses of Sinovac vaccine still in stock.