Leaked comments over Pfizer vaccine sparks outrage on Thai social media
The Nation/Asia News Network
BANGKOK — Some senior doctors are worried that the arrival of the mRNA Pfizer vaccine in Thailand will make recipients of the Sinovac vaccine believe they have been given an inferior product, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday.
On Sunday, the minutes of a meeting about Pfizer vaccines that will be donated to Thailand by the US were leaked online. The minutes included opinions voiced by those attending the meeting, including senior members of the public health sector.
Among the comments recorded was one saying: “If we give Pfizer vaccines to medics, it will imply that the quality of the Sinovac vaccine given to them earlier is low, and it will be difficult for us to find a reasonable excuse.”
Many netizens were enraged by the document and demanded an explanation. Some even predicted that the government will claim the document is fake.
Anutin, however, admitted that some senior doctors did say this at the meeting, but said it was only an opinion and that no final decision has been made about the use of Pfizer vaccines.
