Anutin, Satit to get Sinovac vaccine on Feb 28
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and deputy minister Satit Pitutecha will get the first jab of Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine on Sunday at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi province, Dr Sophon Mekthon, chairman of a subcommittee managing Covid-19 inoculations, said.
“Sinovac vaccines will be injected in people aged 18-59 years,” he said.
Sophon added that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will not get the first jab on Sunday, as he will get the AstraZeneca vaccine instead, which is suitable for those over 60 years.
The first lot of 117,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine landed in Thailand on Wednesday, but it is still pending quality inspection by the Public Health Ministry. The 200,000 doses of Sinovac’s vaccine arrived on the same day.
The Public Health Ministry will start vaccination of the public from March 1, while the list of eligible groups will be announced via the ministry’s Line official account “Mor Phrom” (doctors ready), with priority given to medical professionals.
“Hospitals will contact their personnel who volunteer to get vaccinated to register via the Line account, through which they can choose the date, time and venue of injection,” said Sophon.
“Interested people who are not medical professionals can also register via the Line account in advance, and will get vaccinated when the vaccine becomes available.
“Those who do not have a smart phone can contact public health volunteers in your village to get registered,” he said.
Sophon added that Sinovac’s vaccine will be given to the public from Monday to Friday, while the AstraZeneca vaccine will be given on weekends. Those who are injected with the Sinovac vaccine will need a second dose in 21 days, while AstraZeneca vaccine recipients will need to come back for their second dose in 10-12 weeks.