Phuket: Authorities will knock on people's doors to encourage them to get their Covid-19 vaccine jabs to ensure the province is ready to reopen to tourism on July 1, the deputy governor says.
Pichet Panapong said the province needs a proactive approach if it is to achieve its vaccination target and local leaders such as tambon chiefs and village heads will make door-to-door visits to urge the people to get vaccinated. The approach was agreed upon at a meeting yesterday on the Phuket Tourism Sandbox plan at the provincial hall.
Under the plan, fully vaccinated foreign tourists will be allowed to enter Thailand via Phuket, where they will not have to undergo 14-day quarantine. The province aims to inoculate 310,000 people ahead of the reopening on July 1. Phuket's vaccine rollout started on April 22 and two rounds of vaccinations will take place this month and in June. In all, 400,000 doses will be administered, adding some 56,000 registered migrant workers will also be vaccinated.
Under the rollout scheme for May 18-31, 200,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine will be administered. During June 1-10, 15,000 people including the elderly and people with chronic diseases will be given AstraZeneca shots, followed by the rollout of second shots of the Sinovac vaccine during June 11-24.
Chalermpong Sukhonthapol, director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, said if all goes to plan, about 70% of the people in Phuket will be vaccinated by early July, adding less than 10 people have reported serious side effects after receiving the shots. As of Wednesday, a total of 132,070 had been vaccinated, or 28%.
So far, more than 212,500 people had registered online for shots.
