The National Health Security Office (NHSO), in collaboration with Krungthai Bank, has developed a system to enable people aged 65 years and over to reserve a flu shot and schedule their vaccination appointment on the "Pao Tang" app.
Secretary-general of the NHSO, Sakchai Kanjanawatana, said the app helped the elderly to be vaccinated against three types of flu at their usual health facilities or hospitals affiliated with its "gold card" scheme.
Dr Sakchai said the Social Security Office had also asked if it could use the app to book flu shots for insured people aged 50 years and over.
He said the gold-card fund planned to this year provide four million doses of flu vaccines for six groups of at-risk people and 350,000 more doses for pregnant women.
The six at-risk groups eligible for free flu jabs are: children aged six months to two years; people with chronic diseases such as asthma, coronary artery diseases, kidney failure and cancer; people aged 65 years and older; intellectually disabled people; people with thalassaemia or immune deficiency and those deemed obese or weighing over 100kg.
Everyone in the six groups can book a flu shot at gold-card affiliated hospitals.
Pregnant women are advised they can get their flu jabs from the fourth month onwards.
Those aged 65 years and older can reserve their flu vaccine appointments on the Pao Tang app from Feb 1-March 31 and the injections will be administered from May 1-Aug 31. Pregnant women can reserve a flu vaccine and schedule their appointment all year round.
The NHSO and Krungthai Bank plan to expand the system to all at-risk groups in 2022.
