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(Recasts with vaccination plans)
By Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng
BANGKOK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Thailand is targeting the
immunisation of 19 million people against the coronavirus in a
first phase of inoculations starting on Feb. 14, the prime
minister said on Wednesday, amid criticism the government has
been slow in rolling out vaccines.
Inoculations will begin with 50,000 doses of AstraZeneca's
vaccine, Prayuth Chan-ocha said. He gave no timeline for
the first phase.
By May, Thailand will have received 150,000 doses from
AstraZeneca.
In a broadcast carried on the government's website, Prayuth
apologised for not solving COVID-19 related problems as fast as
the public had demanded.
"Blaming each other will not solve any problems," he said.
Of the 19 million to be vaccinated, 11 million would be
people aged over 60 and 6.1 million would be those with
underlying diseases, he said.
Another 1.7 million would be for medical professionals and
15,000 government workers involved in managing the virus, he
said, adding those under 18 and pregnant women would not be
vaccinated. About a fifth of Thailand's population is under 18.
The timeframe would depend on the capacity of hospitals
administering the vaccines and number of doses they receive,
head of the government's vaccine management committee, Sophon
Mekthon, told Reuters.
Thailand has altogether secured 26 million doses from
AstraZeneca to be produced by local firm Siam Biosience and 2
million doses from China's Sinovac. It has also reserved
35 million doses from AstraZeneca.
Thailand will initially import the vaccines but is expected
by June to be producing it locally, Sophon added.
Authorities say they will vaccinate 31.5 million people.
The education ministry on Wednesday said it would reopen
most schools from next week, in response to localised declines
in new coronavirus infections.
The announcement comes despite the country reporting on
Wednesday its second-highest number of new daily coronavirus
cases, with 819 infections, the majority due to mass testing in
Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the most recent
outbreak.
Thailand has reported 15,465 cases and 76 deaths.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and
Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty and Angus MacSwan)
