“Registered people who are older than 60 years old will get their first injection of the AstraZeneca vaccine on June 7-8,” Dr Chalermpong said, according to a report by the Phuket Provincial Public Relations Office (PR Phuket) posted earlier today (May 13).
Phuket will receive 140,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in early June, he added.
From 1pm tomorrow (May 14), people over 60 who are already registered to receive the vaccine will be able to select the location, date and time for the vaccination, Dr Chalermpong noted.
“This time allowing you to choose by yourself. You must come only at the time you have selected,” he said.
“Only people who are registered will be able to receive the vaccine. No walk-ins will be accepted,” he added.
Meanwhile, the mass-vaccination campaign using the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine ‘CoronaVac’ will continue next Tuesday (May 18), with the next round of recipients receiving their first jab, he noted.
Phuket has already received 200,000 doses of teh Sinovac vaccine to continue the campaign, Dr Chalermpong said.
“The injections will begin on 18 May 2021, then by the end of May Phuket will receive another 200,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine to be used for the second injections for these people, to be administered in mid-June,” Dr Chalermpong said.
VACCINATING FOREIGNERS
The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office has confirmed that they are now receiving registrations of foreigners working in tourism-related businesses to be vaccinated under the state campaign.
The registrations opened on Tuesday, but only for foreigners working in tourism-related businesses.
The confirmation came from a member of the task force that was assigned to oversee the operation of the ‘Phuket Must Win’ web portal.
The foreigners must be registered to receive the state-provided vaccine by a business or organisation that is registered with a Phuket address.
Expats and migrant workers must be full-time staff or a business owner and must have a valid passport and visa, a work permit that has been valid at least six months, and a valid mobile phone number.
The registration is subject to approval by the PPHO. Approval notification will be sent by SMS.
After being approved, registrants will be allowed to book the location, date and time to be vaccinated.
“Vaccination will start from June, and the vaccine to be injected will be AstraZeneca only,” the PPHO assured.
The member of the ‘Phuket Must Win’ web portal task force that The Phuket News spoke to confirmed that “tourism-related businesses” included: Hotels and resorts; travel agencies, tour operator and destination management company (DMC); transportation and airline; restaurant; shopping malls and department store; souvenir shops; theme park; entertainment venue; spa and health massage parlor; theaters; beauty clinics and salons; hospitals and clinics; fitness, sport clubs and golf courses; and schools.
“Foreigners working in other businesses will be in the next phase,” the task force member said.
“Please calm down and wait. Every person will get vaccinated for sure,” the administrator added.
“At this moment, the registration site for tourism-related businesses will have a button to register foreign workers, while the button will not appear for other businesses,” the task force member explained.