Speeding up building Thailand’s herd immunity as Central Shopping Centres nationwide are designated community vaccination sites
Central Pinklao officially opened the Central Pinklao-Vajira Hospital COVID-19 vaccination centre with a visit and venue inspection from Bangkok Governor Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang. The vaccination centre at Central Pinklao is first to be used to provide vaccinations to medical staff, frontline officials, volunteers and registered individuals in high-risk occupational groups. In the next step, it will service the public. For more information, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/CentralPlazaPinklaoPage
Central Pinklao is the seventh Central Shopping Centre to be selected as a vaccination centre. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the Disease Control Committee under the BMA, and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, selected it based on its readiness and efficient management in accordance with the roadmap created by the private sector’s vaccination and vaccine distribution team led by Central Group, Central Pattana, Central Retail, and partners including AIS and Centara.
Under the roadmap, Central shopping centres are being used as vaccination centres in accordance with the strict masterplan, “Central’s Hygiene & Safety”, that ensures public safety and cleanliness, good ventilation, crowd density control, and 100% social distancing management.
Central has become a key leader in mass vaccinations as it has hosted provincial vaccination centres at several of its shopping centres, including Central Lardprao, Bangkok’s first shopping centre to host a vaccination centre, Central Rayong, Central Samui, Central Mahachai, Central Korat, and Central Phuket.
Central Pinklao, in particular, has been widely cited in global media as the ‘Role Model of Social Distancing System’ in response to the outbreak of Covid-19 that began in early 2020.
Central Pattana has joined forces with the government to fight the pandemic and has offered spaces at its shopping centres as provincial vaccination centres to urgently administer vaccinations for registered individuals. In addition, it has provided equipment and computers and coordinates with volunteers to support medical and public health personnel.
Central is looking to expand the success at its shopping centres to other sectors of society in order to help create herd immunity for Thailand and help the country safely move forward as quickly as possible.
At Central Pinklao, preparations have been made in the following areas:
Spacious venue: An area on the fifth level is being used to host the vaccination centre, with systematic social distancing management and a capacity to service up to 1,000 individuals per day. Staff and volunteers: About 60-100 staff members and volunteers, all of whom have been vaccinated, are ready to assist the vaccination drive. Transportation hub: The vaccination centre is accessible to commuters from the MRT Blue Line and a number of public bus routes. Service times: The vaccination centre is in operation from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm every day, while other parts of the shopping centre are open from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm on Mondays to Thursdays, from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm on Fridays, from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm on Saturdays and public holidays, and 10:00 am to 8:00 pm on Sundays. Proactive and strict health and safety measures: Under ‘Central’s Hygiene & Safety’ masterplan, there are five core measures to ensure public safety and confidence, which are 1) extra screening, 2) strict social distancing measures in all areas and crowd density control, 3) safety tracking measures, 4) deep cleaning with attention to all surface areas, and 5) focus on providing ‘touchless experience’.
Meanwhile, Central Pattana is offering its ‘Central’s Hygiene & Safety’ masterplan as the model for public health for other sectors of society. Central is one of the first enterprises in the private sector and the first shopping centre business to respond to the call for vaccination venues.
With its ability to implement public safety and health measures, it has turned a number of Central shopping centres into provincial vaccination centres. These include Central Rayong on 21 April, Central Samui on 23-27 April, and most recently, Central Phuket, where over 85% of employees and shop workers received the second vaccine injections by mid-May 2021, effectively becoming the first shopping centre in Thailand with herd immunity.
As of now, 19 Central shopping centres have been selected as vaccination centres, namely, Central World, Central Lardprao, Central Pinklao, Central WestGate, Central Phuket, Central Korat, Central Mahachai, Central Rayong, Central Samui, Central Suratthani, Central Hatyai, Central Ubonratchathani, Central Udonthani, Central Khonkaen, Central Bangna, Central Chiangmai, Central Chiangmai Airport, Central Chiangrai and Central Lampang
