Phuket today (Sept. 24) launched its booster shot campaign, for the benefit of those who were vaccinated earlier with two doses of Sinovac. The campaign is being conducted using the ’under the skin’ method of vaccination, instead of injecting into muscle, as is done with AstraZeneca jabs.
Doctors will vaccinate around 200,000 residents and those people living on the island without the house registration, aiming to complete the process by the middle of October. When done, Dr. Withita Changaium, Deputy Director of Vachira Phuket Hospital said a second group consisting of migrants and foreign residents will be inoculated.
The subcutaneous, or under-the-skin injection is method used in this latest campaign, replaces vaccination into muscle, with only 10-15 minutes of observation needed following the jab, instead of the previous 30 minutes, as acute side effects, such as low temperature, exhaustion, and headaches are less likely than in the conventional method, with an equivalent immunity boost, based on scientific research,
The subcutaneous injection will allow doctors to administer approximately four times more shots of vaccine than in the conventional method, speeding up the prevention of the Delta variant,Dr. Withita says.
The island is the only province in Thailand with an 80-100% vaccination rate, the highest vaccination rate in the country, as it is the pilot area for the “Phuket Sandbox” scheme that welcomes fully-vaccinated international tourists. (NNT)
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