Vaccine registration through app suspended

The government plans to suspend registration for Covid-19 vaccinations through its Mor Prom online platform to forestall a bottleneck, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

CCSA spokesman Taweesilp Visanuyothin said on Wednesday that the Mor Prom platform previously covered registration for vaccinations, follow-ups on the first and second jabs, side effects and vaccination certification.

Amid increasing confusion, he said registration was now excluded from the Mor Prom (Doctors Ready) app. That platform will now handle vaccination follow-ups and certification only.

Earlier the government announced that the general public would be allowed to register through Mor Prom.

But in a sudden about-turn, Dr Taweesilp said provincial authorities should have their own vaccination registration systems like those of Bangkok, Phuket and Nonthaburi to serve the large numbers of registrants in their areas.

The spokesman assured that the elderly and patients with one or more of seven chronic conditions who had already managed to register for vaccinations with Mor Prom would not have to reapply and would be inoculated "in due time". Their vaccinations would happen soon, he said.

Apart from using provincial registration systems, people were able to apply for vaccinations at local hospitals and with local health volunteers, he said.

That data would be then forwarded to the centralised Mor Prom platform.

The spokesman also said that Covid-19 vaccines would be distributed according to the needs of different areas and groups of people. Areas with serious outbreaks and groups of at-risk workers would receive more doses.

As of Tuesday, 3.15 million people in the country had been inoculated against Covid-19 -- 2.16 million with their first jab and 989,618 with both.

Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said 57% of the doses so far had gone to medical personnel and workers in contact with Covid-19 cases, 34% to people in outbreak areas and 8% to elderly people and those with specified chronic diseases.

The first inoculations were given on Feb 28.