Thailand achieved its target of administering at least 300,000 Covid-19 vaccination shots on the first day of the nation's mass inoculation drive.

As of 4pm on Monday, 306,580 shots had been administered nationwide, according to the permanent secretary of public health, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, who added the figure did not include doses administered in Bangkok.

At press time last night, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration reported that 11,352 people in the capital received their first jab on Monday.

Two kinds of vaccine were used on the first day of inoculations, China's Sinovac and AstraZeneca shots that were produced in Thailand.

Both vaccines require two doses to be fully effective, and the government is expecting to finish administering the first doses by end of September.

Furthermore, the government is planning to procure 100 million doses to inoculate 50 million people, or about 70% of the population, by the end of this year to prepare the country for a full reopening in January next year.

Marking the countrywide Covid-19 vaccination drive, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wrote on Facebook that the battle against Covid-19 is still ongoing, a year and a half after it began.

However, this time, the country has vaccines which are its best hope to turn the situation around, he said.

"Vaccines will be the key to reopening the country to tourism, to rehabilitating the economy and to returning normalcy," he said.

Speaking at a media interview, Gen Prayut said that between 3.5 million to 4 million doses will be delivered this month and that vaccines will be allocated to all areas based on their needs and current supplies.

As of Monday the virus had infected 179,886 people and killed 1,269 people in Thailand.