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PM Wants Covid-19 Vaccinations To Become Top Priority

12 May, 2021

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he proposed to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Covid-19 vaccinations should become a national agenda in which the government would prioritise procurement and distribution of vaccines, and he would therefore like to urge people to register to get the all-important jab.

 

So far, about 1.6 million people aged 60 and above and those with seven types of underlying health conditions have signed up for vaccinations. Of this number, more than 500,000 are in Bangkok and over 200,000 in the northern province of Lampang.

The government has opened registration channels via the Mor Phrom (Doctors Ready) Line application and at provincial health offices and public hospitals since May 1.

“The vaccines procured by the government have passed the Public Health Ministry’s safety standard and are effective against the virus. They are the same kinds of vaccines that have been given to tens of millions people in several countries with low occurrences of severe side effects,” Prayut pointed out.

“These vaccines can almost 100 per cent prevent patients from developing severe symptoms or dying if they contracted the coronavirus,” he said.

“Me and other members of the Cabinet have already been vaccinated without any undesirable side effects,” he added.

 

Prayut also said he wants Thailand to become a hub for manufacturing the AstraZeneca vaccine in Asean. He vowed to procure enough vaccines for every Thai citizen and subsequently purchase more doses to keep in reserve.

On Sunday AstraZeneca (Thailand) announced that samples from test batches of its Covid-19 vaccine made in Thailand by Siam Bioscience had passed quality testing at AstraZeneca’s designated laboratories in Europe and the US.

“This significant progress means we are getting closer to delivering the first batch of the vaccine to the government of Thailand,” the company said.

 

 

 

The Nation

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