THE Public Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department today (June 9) said questions should be raised with Kanchanaburi provincial authorities as to why Sangkhla Buri district was only given one bottle of coronavirus vaccine, or 10 doses, Sanook.com said.
Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, the head of this department, said it had distributed the vaccines to each province according to a plan set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
After that it is for the provincial governor, as chairman of the provincial communicable disease committee, to study the situation in his area of jurisdiction and decide which areas should be allotted more or less of the vaccine.
Questions about provincial distribution of the vaccines have to be raised with the local officials and the governor with the central authorities not knowing anything about this issue.
It is expected that Sangkhla Buri will be getting additional doses of vaccines as Dr Opas confirmed that 11,580 doses were sent to this province in the last round and more is being sent today, with additional supply gradually going there according to the distribution process.
Dr Opas emphasised that vaccines are distributed immediately upon being received according to the needs of each province as regional vaccination and distribution varies from place to place. After that it is for each province to manage it as it sees fit.
Earlier Kanchanaburi province’s MP from Bhumjaithai Party admitted that Sangkhla Buri had received only one bottle of vaccine while explaining that this is because it is a remote area with no internet access which prevented residents from registering online.
However health volunteers had collected names of those who want to get vaccinated and the total is over ten thousand.
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Top: Dr Opas talking to the press today. Thai headline says, “The province itself divides the quota.” Photo: Sanook.com
Home Page: A guesthouse in Sangkhla Buri. Photo: Joaquin Uy (CC BY 2.0)
