|
 A Facebook group with about 4,800 members, called Moderna First Lot
Reservations, had users selling doses for around 1,000 baht ($29.82)
with some offering to buy shots for as low as 800 baht, down from an
original price of 1,650 baht.
"People can transfer, extend or sell their bookings, but seeking big
profits was not suitable," Private Hospital Association President,
Chalerm Harnpanich, told Reuters.
One Twitter user offered four doses of the Moderna vaccine for 1,450
baht each.
"I booked them for my family, but they have been vaccinated so I'm
letting them go," the user posted on Sunday evening.
Thailand's vaccine drive got off to a slow start in June with supply
shortages, confusion over registration and other delays.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organization at the time ordered five
million doses of Moderna for private hospitals. As coronavirus cases
surged, people rushed to make reservations, snapping up pre-orders
within minutes.
But in recent months the government's free programme using Pfizer-BioNTech
and AstraZeneca has gained pace, while coronavirus cases have also
fallen after peaking in August.
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 Thailand has reported a total
of 2.2 million infections and 24,408 deaths.
About 61% of Thailand's estimated 72 million
people living in the country have received two
doses.
Pfizer vaccines arrived in September and later
the government announced its main programme
would be a combination of AstraZeneca and Pfizer
shots.
Chalerm said his Bangkok Chain Hospital Pcl has
administered around 260,000 Moderna shots so far
and that the time gap for booster doses has been
shortened due to concerns over the Omicron
variant. Thailand on Monday reported its first
local transmission of the variant.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Ed
Davies)
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