All first shots of the Covid-19 vaccine will be given to target populations in the next three months, while the entire inoculation programme is expected to finish by the end of this year, public health authorities said on Tuesday.
When 60% of the population has been inoculated against Covid-19 and Covid-19 prevention measures continue to be well maintained, the outbreak should be well under control, said Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit, permanent secretary for public health.
An effective Covid-19 vaccine distribution plan will be crucial for the government's plan to reopen the country and boost the economy through tourism promotion programmes, he said.
In this current urgent and first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine supplied by China's Sinovac Biotech are being distributed to all 13 provinces, including five provinces considered as the country's prime tourist destinations, he said.
In the next phase of the programme, 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, plus another 5 million doses of the same vaccine to be supplied by Siam Bioscience Co, will be administered, he said.
More doses will later be procured for the entire inoculation programme, he said.
And since this vaccination programme is Thailand's largest ever, all provinces are now being required to submit their vaccination plans, which must include who their target population is, he said.
"The first shots are planned to be injected in three months, or about 10 million doses per month at more than 1,000 hospitals across the country," he said.
Each of these hospitals is now required to map out a plan to identify their target population and areas considered at-risk such as popular tourist destinations, border areas and areas where there are still Covid-19 cases, he said.
Dr Chawetsan Namwat, acting chief of the Division of Disease Control in the Emergency Situation, said between Feb 28 and Monday, a total of 50,388 people had been injected with a Covid-19 vaccine.
Of this number, 29,634 people were healthcare workers, 10,281 people taking care of patients, 2,640 with underlying health conditions and 7,833 people in at-risk areas, he said.
No severe side effects from the vaccine have been detected so far, he said.
Chiang Mai, Tak, Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi, Chon Buri, Phuket, Surat Thani and Nakhon Pathom have completed giving the first shots to their target populations, said the doctor.
Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of the new wave, has so far injected more than 60% of its population, while Bangkok aims to inject more than 20% of its population with a vaccine, he said.
