Covid-19 vaccine registration to begin in May

Thailand’s Deputy Health Minister, Sathit Pitutecha, says registration for Covid-19 vaccination will begin in early May, with the national vaccine rollout starting the following month. Members of the public who wish to register for inoculation will be able to do so via a dedicated app, Mor Prom (“Doctors Ready”). Sathit says the government is expecting a large supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine to arrive in June.

“The timing isn’t that late especially when compared with other ASEAN nations.”

To date, 13 “high-risk” provinces have received China’s Sinovac vaccine, which is being distributed to priority groups that include frontline healthcare workers and people with underlying health conditions.

The Bangkok Post reports that 200 people at Pornpat Market in the central province of Pathum Thani have been given the first dose of the vaccine. The province recently experienced a surge in infections, which were linked to the market. Governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum was first to receive the jab, with 8,000 healthcare workers, officials, health volunteers, and people with underlying conditions also in line for vaccination. Vendors at both Pornpat and Suchart markets will also be vaccinated.

The western province of Ratchaburi, which neighbours the Covid-19 epi-centre of Samut Sakhon, has received 2,500 doses of the Chinese jab. Chief public health officer Pachari Arirop was first to be vaccinated. An hour after being injected, she says she experienced no side-effects.

Meanwhile, in Bangkok, 130 doctors and other healthcare workers received their first doses yesterday. 3,700 people in 6 areas of the capital will be vaccinated this week. On the southern island of Phuket, officials have taken delivery of 4,000 doses of Sinovac, with inoculation kicking off yesterday.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post