Thailand starts booster jabs for those vaccinated with Sinovac

Bangkok, Sep 24 (EFE).- Thailand began Friday a campaign to inoculate booster Covid-19 doses for people vaccinated with the full course from Chinese company Sinovac.

Authorities will use the AstraZeneca jab for the third dose, initially intended for about 3 million people who received the first dose of Sinovac between March and May.

The country, which has previously administered booster doses to front-line health personnel against the pandemic, announced in July its plans to begin mixing vaccines from different manufacturers to increase protection against virus variants.

After overcoming the lack of vaccine supply and various organizational problems in recent weeks, the mass vaccination campaign continues at good pace with almost 23 percent of the total population fully vaccinated and 42 percent having received at least one dose.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thursday that the government estimates it will have fully vaccinated the entire population by the end of the year, and that during 2022 they will continue providing booster doses.

Daily Covid-19 infections are on the decline after surpassing the peak of the third pandemic’s third wave in mid-August.

The Health Ministry reported 12,697 infections and 132 deaths Friday, with the country accumulating 1.53 million infections since the beginning of the pandemic, including 16,016 deaths. EFE

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