Millions of J&J Covid-19 vaccine doses to be directed to the border of Thailand and Myanmar

18 November 2021
Millions of J&J Covid-19 vaccine doses to be directed to the border of Thailand and Myanmar
Myanmar refugees at Mae La refugee camp near the Thai-Burma border in Tak province, north-western of Thailand. Photo: EPA

Millions of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine doses will be directed to the border of Thailand and Myanmar in December as part of the Biden administration’s pledge to donate doses to conflict zones, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, Politico reported.

The doses will be sent through a vaccine-sharing program overseen by COVAX, the world’s vaccine distributor, that specifically facilitates immunizations for vulnerable individuals experiencing humanitarian emergencies because of conflict or living in areas inaccessible to governments because they are controlled by non-state armed groups.

Many of the Johnson & Johnson doses will go to individuals in refugee camps on the Thailand-Myanmar border. Thousands more people fled to the region earlier this year after a military coup in Myanmar in February.