Phuket aims for mass Covid-19 immunisation by October

The Phuket government is pushing for more Covid-19 vaccines with the hopes to hit mass immunisation by October. So far, just under 2,000 people on the island province have been injected with China’s Sinovac vaccine. The local officials say they will file a request to get enough doses to vaccinate roughly 78% of the population by October.

With the Phuket economy’s drastic downfall due to the lack of international tourists, the local vaccine campaign will cover not only vulnerable groups, but workers in the tourism industry. The director of Vichira Phuket Hospital Chalermpong Sukontapon says local officials will file a request for the AstraZeneca vaccine to a government subcommittee focused on vaccine management.

“The vaccination injections will be given to about 77.6% of people living in Phuket, so we can open to welcome foreign tourists in October.”

The island province has already received 4,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to cover 2,000 people. Most of those people have now been vaccinated. Next month, Phuket will receive 16,000 doses and then another 48,000 doses in May.

Phuket has a population of around 600,000 people including 81,000 foreigners and migrant workers.

“I want to tell our Phuket brothers and sisters that the vaccines that we have asked for – both Sinovac and AstraZeneca – are safe. I want everyone on Phuket to be vaccinated.”

SOURCE: Phuket News