There are enough Pfizer doses for all children: DDC
The latest batch of 1,538,550 doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Thailand on October 27, Department of Disease Control (DDC) director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong said on Thursday.
“So far, Thailand has received 8 million doses of Pfizer under the government’s plan to procure the mRNA vaccine for children aged over 12 and other target groups. Two million doses had been delivered in September and six arrived in October,” he revealed.
“These 8 million doses are in addition to the 1.5 million the United States government donated to Thailand.”
The DDC chief said that as of October 26, there are 4.3 million children aged 12 to 17 who have registered to get Pfizer shots with provincial communicable disease committees nationwide.
“The department has earmarked at least 5.7 million Pfizer doses for this group: 4.3 million for first jabs and 1.4 million for second shots,” he said.
“We have started vaccinating children since October 4 and more than 2 million doses have been administered,” Opas said.
“So far, less than ten cases of myocarditis/pericarditis have been reported among recipients, none of which has severe symptoms, and all patients have been treated,” he added.
Myocarditis/pericarditis, or heart inflammation, is a recorded side effect of the mRNA vaccine.
The Royal College of Paediatricians of Thailand reported that some boys aged 12-15 in the United States developed myocarditis – at 162.2 per 1 million doses – while for girls it had been only 13 cases per 1 million doses. Cases of myocarditis are rarely found in those who received only one mRNA vaccine shot.
“Even after getting the jabs, everyone must continue maintaining their guard against Covid-19 to create a safe environment for all, which include wearing a face mask, maintaining social distancing and washing your hands regularly,” Opas strongly advised.
