Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) is aiming to hit the inoculation target of giving the first COVID-19 vaccine shot to at least 50% of the population by the end of next month.
DDC Director-General Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong said the Ministry of Public Health can give 900,000 vaccine doses per day and hopes to reach the plan for half of the population to have had the first jab by October.
According to the DDC, from February 28th to September 16th, about 43.3 million shots of vaccines were administered, of which 28.4 million were first doses and around 14.3 million were the second. The department also hopes to provide 1 million doses in just one day, to mark Prince Mahidol day, a key public health event, on September 24th.
Dr. Opas added that people are also learning to live with the pandemic. They have been following the Ministry of Public Health’s universal prevention guidelines, such as wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing in crowded areas. (NNT)