The National Health Security Office (NHSO) will expedite a compensation payment for a photographer who lost vision in her left eye after she received her first shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
NHSO secretary-general Jadet Thammathat-aree said the 37-year-old photographer, who works for a company, had appealed against an initial decision by an NHSO compensation subcommittee to give her 30,000 baht in compensation.
The complainant received the Covid-19 vaccine on Aug 18 and began to have pain in both eyes on Aug 28.
On Sept 10, she had blurred vision in both eyes and decided to seek treatment at a hospital, Dr Jadet said.
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan found nothing suspicious and doctors concluded the conditions were caused by optic nerve inflammation and gave her steroids for three days.
But the woman has now lost the vision in her left eye while her sight in her right eye has become blurred, Dr Jadet said, citing the findings by the NHSO's appeal committee.
"Based on the information, the committee agreed the loss of vision was caused by the vaccine, which meets the NHSO's criteria for compensation for people suffering adverse effects caused by Covid-19 vaccines," he said.
He said the damaged party has lost her vision which has affected her way of life so the committee decided to pay her 240,000 baht in compensation, which is the maximum amount for loss of organs or disabilities.
However, since the NHSO's subcommittee already paid her 30,000 she will receive 210,000 baht, which will be transferred to her account within five days, said Dr Jadet.
"The NHSO has not been complacent about the way it looks after people experience unpleasant reactions as a result of receiving Covid-19 vaccines. It is ready to provide assistance. There are still channels to appeal available for those who disagree with initial decisions," he said.
"After receiving appeals, we review earlier decisions to make sure the damaged parties receive the proper compensation payments they deserve quickly. In this case, the NHSO would like to apologise to the damaged party," he added.