The government plans to distribute 800,000 doses of Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine to 22 provinces in April.
The provinces are divided into three groups.
The first group will receive a supply of the vaccine, known as CoronaVac, to contain the pandemic. This group consists of six provinces where clusters have been reported including Samut Sakhon, Bangkok, Tak (Mae Sot), Pathum Thani, Samut Prakan and Nonthaburi.
The second group consists of eight tourist provinces: Chon Buri, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Phangnga, Surat Thani (Koh Samui) and Phuket. The vaccine will be given to them to help revive economies heavily hit by the pandemic.
The last group consists of eight border provinces: Songkhla, Sa Kaeo, Chiang Rai, Mukdahan, Narathiwat, Ranong, Nong Khai and Chanthaburi. The vaccine is expected to help rehabilitate their economies.
Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Palang Pracharath Party, Prawit Wongsuwon, has received his first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at a hospital in Bangkok.
He said he was vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 21 at Bumrungrad Hospital. He suffered no reaction after the shot.
Gen Prawit was vaccinated by his doctor since he had many chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, a source said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his cabinet ministers received vaccinations on March 16 before the weekly cabinet meeting. Gen Prawit did not join them probably because of his age and congenital diseases, the source said. He is 75.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and his deputy Sathit Pitutecha received their second doses on March 23, making them among the first people in the country who obtained a Covid-19 vaccination online certificate. They and other Public Health Ministry executives received their first Sinovac Covid-19 doses on Feb 28.
The ministry will issue a so-called "Smart Vaccine Certificate" and the QR code will be sent to the official Line official account of Mor Phrom, according to Mr Anutin.
