COVID‐19 vaccine wastage in Thailand amidst vaccine inequity and pandemic‐to‐endemic transition

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccine wastage is an emerging issue globally. In Thailand, which has declared COVID-19 to be an endemic disease, the risk of vaccine wastage lingers despite the remaining vaccine inequity. Although the country does not publicly report its vaccine wastage rate, a wastage incident has been reported. With the remaining secured vaccine doses that have yet to be delivered and Thailand's pandemic-to-endemic transition, Thailand should strategize to avoid vaccine wastage. This commentary highlights several factors that can potentially lead to vaccine wastage in Thailand: cold chain logistics issues, vaccine hesitancy, and unequal vaccine accessibility. The Thai government should continue its efforts in mitigating these issues to maximize its vaccination program.

COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy: The synergistic effect of anxiety and proactive coping

“…Vaccine hesitancy not only challenges efforts toward achieving herd immunity [2] but also may be a contributing factor to vaccine wastage [13]. The goal of the current study was to examine possible cognitive (represented by anxiety about contracting COVID‐19) and behavioral (measured by proactive coping) underpinnings of COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy.…”