Thailand approves booster shots under skin to stretch supplies

This article is more than 12 months old

Sep 21, 2021 06:00 am

BANGKOK: Doctors in Thailand have been given the go-ahead to start giving Covid-19 booster shots under the skin, rather than injecting them into muscles, officials said yesterday, in an effort to strengthen immunity and stretch vaccine supplies.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the method, which doctors began exploring last month, could be used at the discretion of medical professionals, providing it was supported by evidence.

Dr Chalermpong Sukonthaphon, director of the Vachira Hospital in Phuket, said his hospital had been given the green light to use the technique from Friday, as trials had showed it triggered a similar immune response to the regular method.

"One vaccine dose can be used for five intradermal injections," he said.

So far, only 21 per cent of the estimated 72 million people living in the country have been fully vaccinated. - REUTERS