The Public Health Ministry has asked the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to approve a fourth inoculation for frontline medical personnel, volunteer groups and people with underlying health conditions.
The proposal covers 10 provinces comprising four tourist destinations in addition to six provinces with high infection rates. The booster plan would begin next month.
The tourism-related provinces are Phuket, Phangnga, Krabi and Surat Thani. The remainder are: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Chon Buri, Samut Prakan and Kanchanaburi.
The ministry cited continued concern regarding Covid-19's spread as a factor in proposing a fourth vaccine.
Those who received Sinovac as their first two doses and AstraZeneca as a third will get AstraZeneca as a fourth.
Those who received two Sinovac jabs followed by a Pfizer shot will get a fourth shot of Pfizer. The interval between third and fourth shot must be at least three months.
The ministry also proposed the CCSA use the National Health Security Office's universal health coverage database to track vaccination records.
Meanwhile, Dr Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University, posted on his Facebook page that many people asked him how many doses of Covid-19 vaccine they should receive.
He suggested that people should be administered the vaccine at specific intervals. For example, they can get a fourth shot after they've received the third shot from between three to six months later, because too much vaccine does not provide more preventative effects and it may cause side effects.
Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, chief of the Department of Disease Control, said that the Ministry of Public Health is maintaining its level of warning and that people should follow preventive measures against the disease.
Currently, Omicron remains the dominant variant in the country, and the ministry has implemented measures used worldwide for living with the disease, including relaxing some regulations.
Dr Opas said Covid-19 will be endemic soon. He also said that the ministry is going to donate vaccines to neighbouring countries including Myanmar as well as to Africa.