Thailand’s Public Health Ministry plans for fourth booster of Covid-19 vaccines for eligible Thai citizens in 2022

PHOTO: Thairath

National –

The Ministry of Public Health is planning to provide a fourth booster shot of Covid-19 vaccines for eligible Thai citizens in 2022 following the gradual arrival of more vaccines, according to Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

The Minister told the Associated Press today, November 12th, that Thailand will receive 1 million doses of Moderna vaccines from the United States and 1.5 million doses of Sinovac from the Republic of China.

The ministry also expects that this year’s goal of the injection of a total of 100 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines could be done within only one more month, which is faster than the original plan which had forecast this would take until the end of the year.

The Moderna vaccines will be allocated by the Department of Disease Control to people who are required to travel abroad. The vaccine will be provided under the requirement of their country’s destination. For instance, for students who are going to study in Europe, the government would arrange 2 shots of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, or Moderna.

Additionally, the Ministry has started discussing the need for a fourth booster dose for local residents upon the country’s reopening.

Anutin said to the press: “Currently, there are enough vaccines. Vaccination rates are starting to slow down as well because a large number of people are already vaccinated. But there are still some people who don’t want to apply for the vaccination yet. We have ordered relevant agencies to urgently create mutual understanding about the injection to those people and let them know our vaccines are safe and effective.”

“In 2022, we believe we can provide a fourth booster dose of vaccines. After half a year, the Department of Disease Control and the Department of Medical Sciences will study and measure immunity among people in the country. If the immune system falls, we will continuously provide more booster shots until Covid-19 becomes an endemic disease and less of a threat.”

Thailand has, TPN media notes, already started third booster shots of Covid-19 vaccines to some members of the population, such as the elderly, those in tourist-related occupations, and people who were early adopters of vaccines. Thailand has clearly shown that they intend to continue to stick to a high vaccination strategy including that of regular vaccination.

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Nop Meechukhun
National News Writer at The Pattaya News from September 2020 to October, 2022. Born and raised in Bangkok, Nop enjoys telling stories of her hometown through her words and pictures. Her educational experience in the United States and her passion for journalism have shaped her genuine interests in society, politics, education, culture, and art.