The rehearsal was held late yesterday afternoon at the Lan Muang Khao open area at Vachira hospital, which has been set up specifically for the vaccine rollout.
Present to oversee the procedures to be observed while administering vaccines was Dr Pitakpol Bunyamalik, an Inspector General from the Ministry of Public Health Region 11 office, which is responsible for the seven Upper Southern Thailand provinces, including Phuket.
Joining him from the Region 11 office was Dr Apichat Romsom.
Closely observing the procedures was Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong.
“The government recognises the importance of the affected areas of the economy where the epidemic situation of COVID-19 must be stopped and has allocated the COVID-19 vaccine to Phuket Province to build herd immunity, restore the economy, return a smile to Thailand,” Vice Governor Pichet said.
“The Phuket provincial government has been informed that the first COVID-19 vaccine allocation of 4,000 doses is to arrive in early March 2021, the second and third installments, at 16,000 doses and 48,000 doses, are to arrive in April and May,” he added.
“We are preparing to COVID-19 mass vaccination to build confidence among the people that they will receive a quality, safe vaccine and to receive follow-up care after it has been administered,” he said.
Vice Governor Pichet said the first to receive the vaccine in Phuket will be specific target groups.
Medical personnel and public health personnel will receive the vaccine first, followed by those who have front line interaction with the general public.
After that will be workers aged 18-59 years, and people with underlying diseases including chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. The candidates will be selected by doctors by using the hospital databases, Vice Governor Pichet explained.
Among those targetted to not receive the vaccine are patients with “uncontrollable” chronic diseases, he noted.
“People with severe neurological conditions and pregnant women should be wary of taking the vaccine, as well as women who are breastfeeding and people with immunodeficiency,” he said.
As practiced procedure by medical personnel who will administer the vaccine at the rehearsal yesterday, after being screening by having their body temperature taken, cleaning their hands with sanitiser and entering the service area, people receiving the vaccine are to follow the following steps:
Step 1 Register
Step 2 Have their weight and blood pressure recorded
Step 3 Pass the screening process: have their history and risk assessment recorded and sign a consent to receive the vaccine
Step 4 Wait for vaccination
Step 5 Vaccination
Step 6 Take a break and observe symptoms for 30 minutes. Scan the official Line account “หมอพร้อม” (“Doctor Ready”)
Step 7 Pass a final check before receiving a document confirming vaccination
Follow-ups to confirm people determine whether people have experienced adverse reactions to the vaccine will be carried out after one day, seven days and 30 days after vaccination, Vice Governor Pichet said.
Appointments will be set for people to receive their second shot of the vaccine, with those receiving the Sinovac vaccine receiving their second shot 2-4 weeks after their first injection, and those receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine receiving their second shot 10-12 weeks after their first injection, he added.
“At this time, we have no information on any other types of vaccine to arrive, so the vaccines administered should be only these two,” he said.
Kurt | 27 February 2021 - 10:29:27