Expat vaccination in Thailand likely to be delayed

An official from the Bangkok Metropolitan Association says foreigners may face a slight delay in receiving their Covid-19 vaccines. Panruedee Manomaipiboon, director of the BMA’s health department says while the Health Ministry aims to vaccinate everyone living in Thailand, foreigners may have to wait until August.

“As I have said before, the Health Ministry plans to vaccinate Thais first. We will try our best to vaccinate Thais within 2 months, namely June and July, and then try to open foreign resident registration in August.”

Panruedee stresses that the government still intends to vaccinate everyone living in the Kingdom, regardless of nationality, and urges everyone to use the Mor Phom mobile app to register to minimise the risk of disease transmission.

She says the first people to be vaccinated in the government rollout will be healthcare workers and other frontline staff, as well as people with underlying conditions and the elderly, before moving on to the rest of the population, including foreigners.

“We need to build herd immunity, which means we cannot segregate Thais and foreigners. The government has prepared enough vaccines for everyone in Thailand.”

There have been mixed reports from foreigners who have tried to use the Mor Phom app, with most unable to do so, while some with a social security number have managed it. In Phuket, expats working in the tourism sector can have their employer register them through the Phuket Must Win website effective immediately.

The Bangkok Post reports that the BMA has now confirmed 8 clusters of infection in the capital. However, BMA spokesman Phongsakorn Kwanmuang says some areas are seeing a reduction in new cases, but districts like Din Daeng, Dusit, Klong Toey and Suan Luang need to be kept under close observation. He says most infections are reported in crowded spaces such as company offices, worker camps, markets and stores, due to people having close contact.

“They share the same dishes. They share the same space for activities which leads to further infections within communities. In some clusters, it is being spread among family members.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post