French, Belgian ambassadors meet Anutin to strike deals for jabs
The ambassadors of France and Belgium met Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday to find out how they can have their citizens living in Thailand inoculated against Covid-19.
Anutin met ambassadors Thierry Mathou and Sibille de Cartier d’Yves to discuss healthcare measures for French and Belgian citizens in Thailand.
After the meeting, Anutin said Mathou proposed that 10,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine be imported for French expats above the age of 45.
“The Department of Disease Control has approved the motion and will import the vaccine by the end of this month,” he said. “We also discussed other bilateral agreements on healthcare and international trade.”
Meanwhile, the Belgian ambassador has called on the government to provide necessary healthcare to Belgian expats, the cost of which will be covered by Belgium’s social security system. Anutin said the envoy promised to provide similar services to Thais living in Belgium.
“The ministry has agreed in principle and will have the Social Security Office look into details and take care of the issue,” Anutin said.
“The ministry has also promised the ambassador that Belgian citizens, as well as other foreigners living in Thailand, will be entitled to a Covid-19 jab provided they register via http://www.thailandintervac.com.”
Johnson and Johnson's vaccine is one of the five Covid-19 vaccines approved by Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration. The other four are AstraZeneca, CoronaVac or Sinovac, Moderna and Sinopharm’s Covilo vaccine.