Thailand: More than thousand vaccinated at Bangkok's hotspot; govt report 119 Covid-19 cases

All Images courtesy of The Nation Thailand/ANN

BANGKOK, March 20 (The Nation Thailand/ANN): Another 1,006 people at risk of contracting Covid-19 in Bang Khae district were given the Sinovac vaccine, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said.

The vaccine drive started on Wednesday after the BMA established a mobile vaccination unit in Sirisetthanont Market in Bang Khae district, which is a hotspot of recent cluster cases.

The Public Health Ministry and BMA aim to inoculate 6,000 people facing the risk of infection by March 21.

Chawin Sirinak, BMA’s deputy permanent secretary, said 1,006 of the 1,025 registrants were vaccinated on Friday (March 19) and 19 people did not get the jab either due to physical condition or a change of mind.

“Three people who got vaccinated on Friday have shown non-severe side-effects, such as dizziness and being lightheaded. The patients got better after about 30 minutes of rest, ” he added.

So far, the BMA has vaccinated 2,672 people in the Bang Khae area. From Saturday onwards, the mobile unit will move to in front of Inmanoradee Temple in Phasi Charoen district, which neighbours Bang Khae, to facilitate vaccination to a wider group.

Chawin added that those who had been vaccinated would receive their second jab between April 7 and 11.

Meanwhile, Thailand confirmed 119 cases of coronavirus infection, mostly domestic, on Saturday, according to a report of the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Of Saturday's new cases, 112 were domestic infections and seven others referred to imported cases, the CCSA report said.

Of those domestic cases, 38 were confirmed in Bangkok, 38 in Samut Sakhon and 15 in Samut Prakan, the report said.

Thailand has so far confirmed a total of 27,713 cases, 24,745 of which were reported as domestic, while 2,968 others referred to those who had returned from abroad and tested positive in this country.

So far, 26,512 patients have fully recovered and been released from hospitals, while 1,111 others are currently hospitalized and 90 fatalities have been reported.

According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Saturday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 122.88 million (up by 514,038), 99.04 million have recovered, 21.13 million are active cases (89,348 in severe condition) and 2.71 million have died (up by 9,895).

Thailand ranks 115th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 30.42 million, followed by Brazil 11.87 million, India 11.55 million, Russia 4.43 million and the United Kingdom 4.28 million.