Migrant disease control volunteers are being given Covid-19 jabs with vaccine donated by the United Nations, said the Department of Disease Control (DoDC).
An unspecified amount of the donated AstraZeneca vaccine has been made available for the inoculation of the volunteers in Bangkok and four border provinces.
Assisting in the vaccine distribution are the Public Health Ministry, World Vision International and the network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The volunteers have worked with the Public Health Ministry in forming an important line of defence against Covid-19. The vaccination of the volunteers, already underway, is expected to be completed this month, according to the DoDC.
Saowapak Unjoy, the DoDC's director of international cooperation, recently accompanied the World Health Organization, the NGOs and the foundation on a visit to Chaophya Hospital in Bangkok where the migrant volunteers received a jab.
Jabs for the volunteers are also offered in surrounding areas of Bangkok and the border provinces of Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Tak and Songkhla, said DoDC deputy director-general Sophon Iamsirithaworn.
The volunteers have helped with translation and communicated information about public health safety to migrant workers. Themselves migrant workers, they are among frontline people who work in high-risk areas and need protection against the pandemic, Dr Sophon said. There are at least 200 such volunteers, he said.