1. Yesterday, Thailand administered 694,076 doses of vaccines, increasing the accumulated number of vaccinations to over 41 million doses. The total number of persons who have received their first dose now stands at 27,769,095, while those who have received their second dose stands at 13,260,456.

2. The number of new confirmed cases today is 13,798 cases. The number of new recoveries is 14,133, bringing the accumulated total of recoveries to 1,249,603. Active cases stand at 128,546. Today, 144 new fatalities were registered, with an accumulated total of 14,765.

3. Thai government will procure 449,500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the European Union via Spain. The vaccines are expected to arrive by the end of September. Moreover, next year, the Thai Red Cross Society and Chulabhorn Royal Academy will import at least 9 million doses of Moderna vaccines as a booster dose. This is funded by the government and is counted as part of the government vaccine campaign and will therefore be offered free of charge.

4. Foreign nationals who are eligible to register for vaccines are those currently living in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa for various purposes, such as employees, business people, students, teachers or those under various types of educational training schemes, foreign media, those traveling for religious purposes, researchers, and experts, etc. Migrant workers are also entitled to and included in vaccination campaign. International tourists are already required to be fully vaccinated before entering Thailand and are therefore not included in this campaign.

5. The Ministry of Public Health reported that about 10-20% of COVID-19 patients in Thailand are suffering a post-syndrome, also known as ‘long Covid’ symptoms after their recovery. Long Covid displays symptoms of fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and depression. These may occur from the body’s reaction or side effects of drugs administered to the patients during treatment and some conditions linger beyond the period of treatment. Age, obesity and daily steroid use are among the factors that increase the prevalence of long Covid symptoms. As statistics have shown, the symptoms will take about 6 months to a year to recover from, depending on each individual. However, these symptoms may be alleviated by vaccines. People who have received COVID-19 vaccine have less chance of getting long Covid symptoms as the vaccine provides protection against the condition.

6. The reopening of additional provinces to international arrivals on the 1 October 2021 is to be discussed by the CCSA as it involves approving specific public health and disease control measures as well as standard procedures to ensure the safety of both incoming travelers as well as the domestic public. This will be assessed based on valuable lessons drawn from the Phuket Sandbox scheme which has been in operation for over two months. The CCSA press briefing will provide further updates and information on these important guidelines as soon as the CCSA has approved them.

Full CCSA English briefing can be viewed here >>> https://th-th.facebook.com/thailandprd/videos/1003137620478883/

Source: CCSA, Ministry of Public Health, Public Relations Department, and Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.