Half of the 70-million population will have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of October, with at least 1 million doses each for the first and second shots to be administered on Sept 24 alone to mark a special day.
Vaccinations have been gaining pace this month after Thailand received more shots. They peaked on Aug 27 when 915,738 doses were administered.
On Friday, 547,324 doses were given, bringing the total to 43.89 million doses. Since Feb 28, when the immunisation began, 14.7 million people (20.3%) have been fully vaccinated while 28.61 million (39.7%) got the first jab and 620,425 received the third.
Discussing the Public Health Ministry’s goal, Opas Karnkavinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department said the ministry would administer at least 1 million doses of all types of shots on Mahidol Day, which observes the passing of Prince Mahidol on June 24, 1929. Prince Mahidol, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s father, was the father of modern medicine and public health in Thailand.
Dr Opas invited people to visit vaccination centres nearby if they hadn’t done so already.
Discussing the vaccination plans, Dr Opas said the main doses were Sinovac as the first shot and AstraZeneca as the second four weeks apart.
“Local study found the regimen promotes antibodies in a shorter period than normal double-dose regimens. For those who are allergic to the first shot such as developing rashes or having difficulty breathing would get a different vaccine as the second.
Children aged 12-17 will get their first Pfizer shot in early October provided their parents give consent.
