Thai people get vaccinated against Covid-19 at Bang Sue Station in Bangkok. (Photo by Bangkok Post Office) On June 15, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha apologized to the people for delays in the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination program and said there were many reasons for the delay. this late. The Bangkok Post quoted Prayut as saying that the Thai government only received small batches of vaccines, not large batches at the same time. At the same time, vaccine shortages and delay in vaccination schedules only occur at vaccination sites with high vaccination capacity and have used up allotted vaccines. According to Prayut, the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines cannot be done quickly, and the production and quality control of vaccines are very time consuming. Many other countries in the world also have this problem. In addition, Thailand’s vaccination program was also adjusted to speed up the vaccination of high-risk groups in epidemic areas, thereby controlling the epidemic and protecting the activities of health workers. machine. This also affects some people who have previously registered for the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, the vaccination process also involves many agencies and organizations, and misunderstandings can occur in the immunization coordination process. Prayut said those who had already registered for the vaccine but had their appointment rescheduled would not have to re-register and their registration would remain valid. He said: “As the Prime Minister and Director of the Thai Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), I am the commander-in-chief of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand. I apologize for the problems that have occurred and I will take full responsibility.” Prayut said the government has distributed 7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to provinces across the country and so far 6.5 million doses have been administered to people. He affirmed that he also closely follows information about vaccinations and does his best to solve problems that arise. “We will find ways to solve the problems to ensure the maximum benefit for the people and reduce their anxiety,” he said. The Thai government has now ordered 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to immunize about 50 million people, or 70% of the country’s population, this year. Prayut confirmed that Thailand will order more vaccines to be able to increase the number of people vaccinated to 80 to 90% of the population next year.

The apology was made by Prime Minister Prayuth after the Thai public expressed displeasure over the slow implementation of the vaccination campaign. Prime Minister Prayuth said that despite ordering a large number of vaccines, the Thai government has only received a small amount of the vaccine. Vaccines are now concentrated in large vaccination points, with faster vaccination rates, where almost all of the vaccines they are distributed are used up. Although Thailand has been transferred technology, the production of a vaccine takes a long time, not to mention the quality control procedures, which every country has to face, Prime Minister Prayuth said. Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha. Photo: Khaosad. In addition, vaccination is currently focused on the most vulnerable populations in high-risk outbreak areas in the Thai capital, in order to prevent the disease from spreading, as well as to maintain the operation of health facilities. factory. This affects those who have already signed up for vaccinations, Prime Minister Prayuth acknowledged. In addition, Prayuth also said that the vaccination campaign involved many organizations, and the lack of harmony in the coordination process also affected the speed of vaccination deployment. The Thai government has ordered 100 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, with plans to vaccinate 50 million people, or 70% of the population, this year. Prime Minister Prayuth said Thailand’s goal is to buy enough vaccines to raise vaccination rates to 80-90%.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine. Photo: VNA broadcast Due to the complexity and urgency of the situation, the provision of vaccines individually to each organization is a challenge, the institute’s announcement noted. We urge all organizations and individuals to access vaccines through public agencies and the private health care system. ”| In addition, from July next, the country can increase production of vaccine AstraZeneca to 100 million doses / month, significantly increased from the current 60-70 million doses per month. However, this production growth milestone is two months later than originally intended. The same day, Prime Minister Thailand Prayut Chan-o-cha said the country will seek to buy about 35 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine from two or three other manufacturers, in addition to the 65 million doses already ordered. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said this would complement the government’s purchase of 65 million doses of vaccine from two manufacturers, AstraZeneca and Sinovac Biotech, according to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Bangkok. Of the 35 million doses of the new vaccine, 10-15 million will be bought by the private sector to inject their employees and this will save the government money. Thailand started its vaccination campaign on February 28 with priority given to high-risk people who are health professionals and those in close contact with patients. The country’s vaccination campaign will initially rely on imported vaccines developed by China-based company Sinovac Biotech and will then use the vaccine AstraZeneca contracted by the company Siam Bioscience to make domestically for injection. vaccinated for about 35 million people. As of April 20, more than 2.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 117,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, arrived in Thailand. To date, Thailand has received a total of 712,610 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“People will carefully celebrate Songkran at home,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha announced on April 6. He asserted that the regulations of a state of emergency still apply in response to the Covid-19 epidemic. All provincial governors are allowed to enact more stringent anti-epidemic measures if necessary. So, one year from now, the streets of Thailand will be free from laughing crowds, water gun fights from locals and tourists. Thailand attracts thousands of foreign visitors each year thanks to the Songkran water festival. Photo: Reuters. Songkran Festival usually starts on April 13 every year and takes place for 2 days. This year, the Thai government approved an additional day off on April 12 to give Thais a week-long vacation, to encourage people to travel, boosting the economy. However, the back outbreak of the epidemic destroyed the opportunity to revive the economy of the Golden Temple during the festival. Economic impact The Tourism Authority of Thailand predicts a rebound of the disease could cause tourists to reduce spending during the Songkran festival by 2.4 billion baht ($ 75 million). Many tourists have canceled their schedule to Thailand and checked out the hotel. “About 20% of the number of pre-booked rooms in major cities like Phuket, Pattaya and Hua Hin has been canceled,” said Pisoot Saekool, president of the Thai Hotel Association. The Thai Hotel Association and the Tourism Authority expect tourist spending on Songkran to drop to 9.6 billion baht, down from an earlier prediction of around 12 billion baht. Although more than 300,000 Thai people have been vaccinated with Covid-19, outbreaks are still popping up in Bangkok and can spread across the country during the Songkran holiday as many return home. As of April 7, Thailand had a total of 29,905 Covid-19 cases. Of which, 28,069 people recovered, 95 died. Many pubs and restaurants in big cities have to close temporarily to maintain social distance. This year, Khao San Road, a famous place to attract foreign visitors during the water splash festival, will no longer have crowds playing around, splashing water on each other. Photo: Akira Kodaka. At the upcoming festival, the Thai Covid-19 Situation Management Center (CCSA) only allows traditional activities such as pouring perfume on a Buddha statue. However, this operation should also be carried out at a distance of at least 1.5 m. With no public events and celebrations left, spending by locals on Songkran is also expected to drop significantly. A poll conducted by the Thai Chamber of Commerce University shows that this year’s Songkran will be less noisy as more Thais plan to stay at home. Holiday spending is expected to fall below 100 billion baht ($ 3.1 billion). This figure is still better than the Songkran festival in 2020, but much lower than the annual average of more than 135 billion baht. Khao San Road, a popular place to attract foreign visitors during the water festival, is also said to be very quiet as no public events are allowed, meaning the sales are bleak. business in this area. Sa-nga Ruangwattanakul, president of the Khao San Road Business Association, said the number of tourists is expected to plummet this year as fun activities such as splashing water and powder on each other are prohibited. “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, our revenue during the Songkran season was about 100 million baht per day. This year, however, I think it was only about 10 million baht,” Ruangwattanakul said.