Thailand to mix Sinovac, AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines to increase protection

Thailand's immunisation strategy against the coronavirus will see a shot of AstraZeneca's viral vector vaccine administered after one dose of Sinovac's vaccine, its health minister said on Monday,

The plan, if implemented, would be the first publicly announced mix and match of a Chinese vaccine and a Western-developed shot.

The move aims to increase protection against highly transmissible variants, Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters.

Read | Can you mix and match Covid-19 vaccines?

"This is to improve protection against the Delta variant and build high level of immunity against the disease," Health Minister Anutin said, referring to the variant first detected in Indonesia.

Thailand and neighbours like Indonesia have reported breakthrough infections among medical and frontline workers inoculated with Sinovac's inactivated virus vaccine.

The majority of Thailand's medical and frontline workers were given Sinovac's shots after February with the viral vector vaccine from AstraZeneca arriving in June.