Thailand’s Prime Minister has stressed the importance of the mass vaccination and proactive testing strategies for Bangkok, saying that the target is to vaccinate most of the capital’s population in two months.
The Prime Minister revealed the country’s latest vaccination and proactive testing plans, as Thailand continues to face the biggest-ever wave of COVID-19.
Speaking after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, announced that the country will be starting the mass vaccination program in all provinces on 1st June.
With most of the cases emerging in the capital, the Prime Minister said proactive testing and vaccination will remain a priority for the Greater Bangkok Area. The government has set a goal of vaccinating at least 5 million people, or around 70% of the population of the metropolis, in June and July, in the hope of achieving herd immunity.
The vaccine rollout in Bangkok will rely mainly on hospitals, plus 25 vaccination centers outside the hospitals.
In the entire country, people can make their vaccination appointments on the Morprompt system, or any other system provided by their local administration. Additional vaccines will be provided to vaccination centers outside the hospitals, provided the supply is sufficient.
Organizations can make a request to the Ministry of Public Health for group vaccination services, intended for people at higher risk of exposure, such as frontline workers, workers in the aviation industry, teachers, motorcycle taxi drivers, hotel employees, diplomats, businesspersons, and students traveling to schools in foreign countries.
The Prime Minister said the government will be focusing on large clusters linked to prisons and construction workers’ camps, with proactive testing, treatment, and isolation.
The government has instructed correctional facilities to proactively test the inmates, set up a COVID-19 ward inside the facilities, and refer critical patients for treatment at a specialized hospital.
The Prime Minister said the “Bubble and Seal” approach adopted at the prisons will quickly bring the situation under control, while the risk of transmission from prisons to surrounding communities remains minimal.
He said the government has ordered the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration to quickly and strictly arrange proactive testing at workers’ camps, factories, and other densely populated establishments.
The Prime Minister has also on this occasion thanked medical and public health officials for their relentless work, and thanked the community for the cooperation of the general public. (NNT)
