General public can register for vaccinations starting May 1 - The Nation

General public can register for vaccinations starting May 1

The Public Health Ministry will start vaccinating the general public against Covid-19 around mid-May, when the first lot of the locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccine will be ready, Public Health permanent secretary Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit said.

"The government aims to have 50-60 per cent of the population vaccinated as soon as possible to effectively control the outbreak," he said.

"We will also expand the vaccination units by collaborating with the private sector, which will provide locations such as at shopping malls or other modern trade venues. This will maximise the number of people getting vaccinated per day from the current rate of 500 per day per hospital," Kiattiphum said.

Since February 28, Thailand has been vaccinating people in high risk groups – medical professionals and those who have close contact with patients.

According to statistics from the government's Covid-19 Information Centre, 578,532 doses of vaccine have been given to people in all 77 provinces from February 28 to April 12. Of these, 505,215 received their first jab while 73,317 received a second jab.

"There are four channels where people can register to get the vaccine: via the "Mor Phrom" (Doctors Ready) Line official account; the mobile Mor Phrom application that will be ready for download on May 1 initially on Android phones; at hospital via telephone, or by contacting public health volunteers nationwide," he added.

Those who have been vaccinated will receive both a paper and digital certificate (in the form of a QR code), which they can use to verify their vaccinations. The ministry expects vaccine passports for international travel to be ready in June, once the World Health Organisation finalises the all-important criteria.