Senior Thais and foreigners based in Thailand will be given priority for the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, which arrived in the country from Japan on 9 July, says Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
CCSA assistant spokeswoman Dr Apisamai Srirangsan said Thais and foreigners aged 60 or over and those with any of seven chronic diseases will be among the groups to receive the vaccine. Other recipients will be students, diplomats, athletes and people in need of inoculation before travelling overseas.
She said the shipment contained 1.05 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. The government is trying to inoculate more senior citizens, especially those living in high-risk Bangkok, to contain the rapid spread of the virus, as the highly transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant is gaining ground.
Dr Apisamai added that it was also agreed at the CCSA meeting on Friday (9 July) to give vaccinated healthcare personnel the Pfizer vaccine as a booster shot. Meanwhile, more testing centers will be opened in Bangkok and five neighboring provinces, to identify infected people, as several screening centers in Bangkok have been overwhelmed in recent days after the jump in new cases in Bangkok. (NNT)
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