‘Action plan’ being undertaken by the Department of Disease Control at the Ministry of Public Health includes a refrigeration network, a separate programme to test adverse reactions and a nationwide information campaign aimed at the public.
Thailand will begin its vaccination programme in May next year with an emphasis on the young, the elderly and those with underlying conditions while anyone not on the public health scheme will be expected to pay for it through private hospitals.
The Director-General of the Department of Disease Control at the Ministry of Public Health has revealed that Thailand’s mass vaccination programme for Covid-19 will get underway in May 2021.
Dr Opas Karnkawinpong said on Thursday that a refrigeration network was being established now to keep the vaccine doses in storage throughout the country to maintain maximum potency levels.
Up to 10,000 public health facilities involved
He said plans were being made to have the vaccine made available through the public health system free of charge to the Thai public through up to 10,000 health promotion hospitals nationwide.
The kingdom has secured 26 million doses of the vaccine from UK Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca who developed it in conjunction with Oxford University.
The programme will cover 13 million people.
AstraZeneca to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Medical Science
Dr Opas pointed out that the AstraZeneca vaccine in Thailand must, first of all, obtain approval from the Thai Food and Drug Administration as well as the Department of Medical Sciences at the Ministry of Public Health.
He said that the very young, elderly and those with underlying conditions would take priority after, first of all, vaccinating medical staff at Thai hospitals.
The senior official revealed that the government would also be launching a programme to monitor and detect side effects from the vaccine which will run up to January 2022.
The ministry will also run an information campaign aimed at the public. This would explain why many people, in fact, do not need the vaccine.
Private hospitals are on their own
Dr Opas termed the vaccination programme an ‘action plan’ to bring the vaccine to the public but pointed out that private hospitals and facilities would have to source their own vaccine and make them available to their patients on a commercial basis.
The top public health official also briefed the media on the current scare linked with Thai women who have returned, illegally, from the Myanmar town of Tachileik in Shan state.
Up to Wednesday, 4 had tested positive for the virus causing officials to scramble to track their movements and trace those who came in contact with them.
Public should report illegal crossings and stay calm as up to 500 may be at risk after Myanmar scare
Dr Opas revealed that 10 have now been detained by police for crossing into Thailand illegally.
He encouraged anyone in the public who knows of any further Thai nationals crossing over illegally from Myanmar to report the situation to authorities and said that officials now estimate that up to 500 people had been put at risk.
However, he urged calm, saying that anyone who thinks they may have come into contact with the women can receive a Covid-19 test and that, generally, people can stay safe by observing the appropriate and now familiar hygiene protocols.
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