Signups for COVID-19 vaccination will begin in two months, according to health officials.
Prior to June, when Thailand becomes the last ASEAN nation to roll out vaccines, members of the public will be able to register using a new app called Mor Phrom, or Doctor’s Ready. Thailand has vowed to make it available for free to all regardless of citizenship.
Everyone in Thailand may get free vaccine – when they’re available, at least
Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said large batch of Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca is due to arrive in June, which will enable the government to cover a greater subset of the population.
On Monday, the 200,000 doses of Chinese-made CoronaVac were distributed to 13 high-risk provinces, according to Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha.
A total of 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are ultimately expected.
Last week a small batch of doses of the vaccine developed with Oxford arrived from Italy, and another 1.8 million doses of CoronaVac are expected to arrive by the end of April.
Before any of its domestically produced supply of AstraZeneca reaches the public, approximately 2 million doses will arrive from abroad, earmarked for those most in need, including medical personnel and people with underlying conditions.
The government’s procurement process and slow rollout were at the center of a no confidence debate the government survived late last month.
Manufacturing was awarded to a firm controlled by the palace, a source of complaints that has led to critics being charged with insulting the king.
