The Prime Minister has expressed his satisfaction with Thailand’s current rate of vaccination, with just under 100 million doses now administered. Health authorities are working to locate visitors from countries with recorded Omicron cases for additional testing, as part of the country’s surveillance measures against this new Covid variant.
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed his satisfaction with the current vaccination uptake in Thailand, with almost 94 million doses now administered since the start of the vaccination campaign on 28 February.
The government is committed to reaching its 100 million dose target by the end of this year, with the jabs now available for people from 12 years old and above.
From a total of 93,929,601 doses administered, 41,827,020 people have received at least 2 doses of the vaccine needed for full immunization. Almost 3.5 million people have already received their booster shots.
The government has also provided 5.8 million jabs to children aged 12-18 years old, which is more than the amount initially registered.
The Ministry of Public Health is now working to ensure sufficient vaccine supplies for the next year, by both ordering from foreign drugmakers and supporting domestic development of COVID-19 vaccines, including the ChulaCov19 mRNA vaccine, and Baiya’s plant-based protein subunit vaccine.
The vaccination strategy next year will be focusing on providing additional protection against COVID-19 variants, including the newly reported Omicron variant of concern.
The Prime Minister has also urged related agencies to monitor any risk factors that may spark a new outbreak, particularly the illegal movement of migrant labor.
The government is also reaching out to travelers from Africa who have entered Thailand prior to the new travel restrictions. These travelers are asked to re-take a COVID-19 test using the RT-PCR method. (NNT)