BANGKOK: Thailand has approved Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine for emergency use, paving the way for the country to receive its first vaccine shipment of 200,000 doses from the Chinese biopharmaceutical firm on Wednesday.

The country’s Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Sinovac vaccine for emergency use, and the first batch, aboard a Thai Airways International plane, is scheduled to arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport Wednesday morning, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said Tuesday.