Bangkok’s schools may reopen in November, pending the speed of the vaccination rollout in schools, said Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang on Tuesday, while students with underlying diseases will be the first to get inoculated, mainly with Pfizer vaccine.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) provided free vaccinations yesterday to 1,500 students, aged between 12-18, who are afflicted with any of the seven underlying conditions and who have passed the screening conducted by Vajira Hospital.

The Pfizer vaccine being used was part of the 1.5 million doses donated by the United States and distributed by the Disease Control Department to the BMA.  Of the 1,500 youngsters, 700 are to receive their first jab and the rest, who were given their first shot on August 27^th, will receive their second.

The underlying conditions include chronic respiratory disease, heart and blood vessel disease, chronic kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease or stroke, cancer and low antibody levels, obesity and diabetes, as well as Down Syndrome and developmental issues.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital at Navamindradhiraj University Asst. Prof. Dr. Jakravoot Maneerit said today that the inoculation service is intended to protect this group of youngsters from developing severe symptoms if they are infected with COVID-19, particularly those who are overweight.

In the post-inoculation observation of the first group to be inoculated, he said that none had suffered serious side effects and most of those who had mild side effects suffered pain at the injection site adding, however, that the observation will continue for about a month post vaccination and the results will be recorded in the hospital’s database and reported to the Ministry of Public Health.

Source: Thai PBS World