The Public Health Ministry will allow people aged 18 years and over and those who have never been vaccinated to be injected with any formulation, while those aged 12-17 can get two doses of Pfizer vaccine, Dr Wichan Pawan, director of the Division of General Communicable Diseases, Department of Disease Control, said on Thursday.
People who received Sinovac plus AstraZeneca in the August-October period are mainly encouraged to get AstraZeneca as a booster jab.
Those who received two AstraZeneca doses during the same period should consider Pfizer as a priority, and those who got two doses of an inactivated vaccine should go in for AstraZeneca as the booster.
The administrator of the MoH Prompt vaccination application is now discussing with the Public Health Ministry guidelines, dates and locations for people who need booster jabs and can register via apps.
Dr Wichan urged people to download the apps and register as soon as possible.
Guidelines for booster doses are expected to be revealed next week.
Siriraj Hospital is introducing 5G, Cloud, and AI technologies to improve its services to be more efficient and faster, bringing about new experiences for patients and serving as a model for the development of further Smart Hospitals in Thailand.
Today (16 December 2021) at 09.00 hours, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, presided over the inauguration of “Siriraj World Class 5G Smart Hospital” alongside Mr. Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, Prof. Dr. Prasit Watanapa, MD, Dean of Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University, Colonel Natee Sukonrat, Ph.D, Vice-Chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, Mr. Han Zhiqiang, Ambassador of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Thailand, Mr. Abel Deng, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., as well as Assoc. Prof. Visit Vamvanij, MD, Director of Siriraj Hospital, Assoc. Prof. Cherdchai Nopmaneejumruslers, Vice Director of Siriraj Hospital, and executives for the ceremony at Rachapanaddasirindhorn Auditorium Conference Room, Srisavarindira Building, Siriraj Hospital.
Prof. Dr. Prasit Watanapa, MD, Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital Mahidol University, shared the background and development of implementing Siriraj’s Smart Hospital Project with 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) to build a model for “Smart Hospitals” in collaboration with its partners – introducing 5G, Cloud, AI, and Digital Disruption technologies for application in prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation to enhance the quality and productivity of medical services, bring about good experiences while using its services, provide people in remote areas with better opportunities to access advanced tertiary health care services, as well as minimize the disparity and serve as a model for new generations of medical services to the global public health industry. In addition, an Innovation Lab and other innovative platforms were also established to cultivate innovation projects in the future.
The Project comprises nine programs as follows:
1. Smart EMS with 5G and AI;
2. Smart Emergency Room with 5G and AI;
3. Pathological diagnosis system with 5G and AI;
4. 5G AI Platform for NCD;
5. 5G AI Smart Inventory Management;
6. Permission based block chain for personal health record;
7. Smart Logistic with 5G Unmanned car;
8. Multi-access Edge computing (MEC);
9. Hybrid Cloud
Each of these programs proceeded as planned with concrete results and it is expected that all programs will be completed according to their respective objectives. Siriraj is thus regarded as Thailand’s first hospital to develop a prototype project that applies and finetunes 5G technology to improve the efficiency of medical services, thereby becoming a Smart Hospital with 5G, Cloud and AI solutions – pioneering such medical services with efficiency, reliability, and trust for Thai people.
Colonel Natee Sukonrat, Ph.D., Vice-Chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, addressed the NBTC’s support of the Project by saying that “The NBTC, as the regulatory body of broadcasting and telecommunications businesses, has a key mission for licensing frequencies to accommodate high speed wireless communications in the 5G era, to promote the national telecommunications infrastructure development, and introduce the extension and utilization of technologies to various sectors. This is in line with the government’s policy after the National 5G Committee resolved to approve the pioneer Smart Hospital project as a prototype project for 5G application and foresaw the potential of Siriraj Hospital – equipped with specialists and fully-integrated medical equipment – as being instrumental in development into a smart hospital to produce apparent results. Therefore, the NBTC and NBTC Office have set budgets for project implementation, coordination for frequency utilization, and transfer of state-of-the-art technology and know-how to support further applications in other hospitals nationwide in order to provide those in remote areas with more access to advanced health care services.”
Mr. Abel Deng, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co., Ltd., highlighted that “Huawei has collaborated with Siriraj Hospital to transform it into a world class 5G Smart Hospital, and introduced the Innovation Lab at Srisavarindira Building as part of its 5G infrastructure project for Siriraj Hospital last year. This signifies a model for upgrading Thailand’s public health industry in the future and contributes to Siriraj’s transition to becoming a Smart Hospital, in line with Huawei’s mission to Grow in Thailand, Contribute to Thailand.”
Mr. Han Zhiqiang, Ambassador of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Thailand, emphasized that as long as Thailand is in need and as long as China is capable, China is willing to go all out to help Thailand fight the pandemic. He further expressed confidence in the future of China-Thailand cooperation in smart healthcare. “China and Thailand’s 5G cooperation has become model in the region, helping Thailand become the first country in Southeast Asia to launch 5G commercial use. China is willing to work together with Thailand to address common challenges and drive economic development, and will continue to support Huawei and other Chinese companies in growing Smart Hospitals and bringing better lives for Thai and Chinese people.”
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, addressed the national policy on 5G technology movements, stating, “I am pleased and honored that Thailand is moving forward with 5G and AI technology and is being utilized in Siriraj’s 5G Smart Hospital. The Thai government understands the importance of technology, successfully drafting a plan for Digital Thailand, and today is an important start in the utilization of digital technologies and 5G in the medical field. This will help reduce processes for medical personnel, decrease overall risk, and will improve the effectiveness and efficacy of healthcare for patients. We will use Siriraj 5G Smart Hospital as a pilot project with the aim of expanding to other hospitals in the future. Today is a first step to successfully implement 5G technology for medical use. We would like to thank Ambassador of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Thailand for a land-lasting friendship and collaboration between Thailand and China. We admire Siriraj Hospital and Mahidol University, and would like to thank Huawei, NBTC, private organizations, and all other partners involved in this project. We hope the project will act as a blueprint for all Smart Hospitals in Thailand going forward.“
The exhibition “Siriraj 5G Smart Hospital” and the Innovation Lab will be open to the public until 12:00hrs on 17 December 2021 at the front of Rachapanaddasirindhorn Auditorium Conference Room, Siriraj Hospital.
This cross-sector collaboration will enhance and upgrade the services of Siriraj Hospital to progress it to become a smart medical center using digital technologies based on 5G, AI, Big Data infrastructure, and Cloud Edge processing for the purpose of patient tracking, disease diagnosis by AI on Cloud, data storage and analysis, and allocation of resources – all of which will help pave the way to fulfill the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital’s vision to become the “Medical Institute of the Nation, a Creator of Global Citizen Wellbeing”, and a Smart Hospital model for other hospitals in Thailand.
Songkhla’s iconic Samila and Chalatat beaches witnessed a “Big Cleaning Day” on Thursday to provide tourists with a clean, alluring environment during New Year.
Spearheaded by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and Songkhla Municipality, the event saw the mayor presiding over the ceremony at the Thai Pavilion on Samila beach.
More than 200 volunteers participated, including community leaders, business people, locals and those from the government.
The northeast monsoon normally whips the South in December, with strong waves and winds piling up trash on Samila and Chalatat beaches. The trash includes glass and plastic bottles, tree branches, logs and fishing nets, which spoil the beautiful beach and even impact marine and coastal resources.
The Department of Corrections’ disciplinary board has fired four officials who allegedly committed “severe disciplinary offences” against prison inmates and their relatives, the department announced on Thursday.
“One official had been terminated for allegedly demanding money from families of inmates in exchange for providing special treatment to prisoners,” department director-general Ayut Sinthopphan said.
“In separate cases, three other officials of the department have been fired for allegedly physically abusing inmates, which resulted in serious prisoner injuries and deaths.”
Ayut said the department is committed to making prison administration transparent and seeing that all officials strictly follow laws and regulations.
“The move to terminate officials will serve as an example for other prison officials that no one is above the law,” Ayut said.
“Those who have been suspected of committing a breach of discipline will be immediately removed from their positions, followed by punishment and applicable legal action,” he added.
To report extortion or abuse by prison officials, please fill a form here
Narcotics Control Board (NCB) secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkhon chaired a meeting with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Thursday to hand over seized drug samples in a bid to create a database for investigation of international drug trafficking cases and improve the efficiency to detect drugs.
Wichai said the NCB had provided the AFP with drug samples twice – on October 18, 2018, and September 20, 2019.
The handover consisted of 20 samples of crystal methamphetamine, or “ice”, each weighting 20 grams and 20 samples of amphetamine, making it a total of 400 pills. The drugs were seized from 2017 to 2019.
AFP senior officer Simon Lalic said Australia has a high-tech lab that can analyse the structure of chemical precursors.
Australian experts have also provided knowledge to their Thai counterparts on drug analysis, sources and types of precursors, manufacturing processes, and contamination in drug samples.
Wichai added that the NCB has also cooperated with China in exchanging drug samples. This cooperation will lead to faster drug arrests and classification. It will also be beneficial in finding the source of origin.
Si Rat-Outer Ring Road Expressway fees have increased. The new expressway, which covers Bangkok’s Taling Chan, Bang Phlat and Bang Sue districts, went in for a fare increase on Wednesday. The fee has risen by THB15 to THB35 for various types of vehicles. Here’s how much it would cost motorists.
The current fee for 4-wheeled vehicles is THB65 from THB50, THB105 from THB80 for 6-10 wheeled vehicles and THB150 from THB115 baht for vehicles with more than 10 wheels.
However, you can avail of the old fee if you purchase THB1,000 worth of coupons at the checkpoint building until December 30. The coupons can be used until December 15 next year.
A booklet of 20 coupons for 4-wheeled vehicles costs THB1,000, down from the actual price of THB1,300. A booklet for 6-10 wheeled vehicles costs THB1,600 from THB2,100 and THB2,300 from THB3,000 for vehicles with over 10 wheels.
For more information, please visit any Si Rat-Outer Ring Road Expressway control centre or call 0 2555 0255.
Tai Orathai, or Orathai Dabkham, has become the first luk thung artist to appear on a billboard in New York’s world-famous Times Square.
She went on Facebook on Wednesday to voice her thanks to Spotify Thailand, saying the Times Square mention is her biggest achievement as a singer and a New Year gift.
Tai had made it to this month’s cover of Spotify’s playlist Equal Thailand.
In November, the Spotify cover featured female artist Palmy, or Eve Pancharoen, another GMM Grammy singer.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry launched its “Ease of Travelling” platform on the Entry Thailand website on Thursday to attract foreign tourists amid concern over Omicron outbreaks. The ministry also said some “good news” in the form of a “New Year gift” would be announced on Friday.
Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told reporters on Thursday that the platform would be a hub to provide essential information and related mobile applications for tourists during their visit to Thailand.
The information and apps will include the Thailand Pass, the MorChana app, Covid insurance purchase, tourist and tourism volunteer information, tax refunds and information dealing with online visa applications.
Phiphat admitted that the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant is worrisome.
He said as many as 8-15 million foreign tourists were expected to visit the country in 2022, which should generate up to THB1.8 trillion – if the pandemic situation does not worsen.
Wild baby elephant Fah Sai is going from strength to strength under the care of loving veterinarians after the three-month-old was rushed into intensive care on November 28 following severe injuries sustained from gunshots and a snare in Chanthaburi’s Kaeng Hang Maew district.
Fah Sai is recovering and the little one has increased strength now, Protected Areas Regional Office 2 (Sriracha) veterinarian Dr Sunita Wingwon revealed on Wednesday.
The baby’s rescuers had named her Fah Sai (Clear Skies) before losing no time in transporting her to Nong Nooch Tropical Garden in Pattaya for treatment.
Dr Sunita said staff from the Khao Chi-On Non-Hunting Area and Banglamung Wildlife Breeding Centre have treated the wound on Fah Sai’s right ankle and two millimetres of skin have already regrown.
She said staff also treated the wound on the baby’s left leg with laser therapy, disinfectant and tonic in a bid to boost tissue regeneration.
“The elephant in now happy and in good health with increasing strength,” Sunita said.
She added that staff are cooperating with veterinarians from Nuern Plub Warn Animal Hospital to set up a treatment plan and monitor the baby elephant’s health.
Thailand must create immunity for vulnerable groups such as elders over 60 years old, pregnant women, and people with seven underlying diseases, Weerawat Manosuthi, deputy director of the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, said at an online seminar organised by the National Vaccine Institute in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on how to deal with the Covid-19 Omicron variant.
Weerawat said there were cancer patients, organ transplantation patients, HIV patients and systemic lupus erythematosus patients with weak immune systems who have not received medicines and some patients have to use immuno-suppressant drugs.
This could lead to a lower immunity rate.
Fully vaccinated patients with a weak immune system will have lower immunity than normal. However, a host of studies have revealed that booster doses would help them more than healthier individuals if they received the dose one month after the latest jab instead of 3-6 months.
According to WHO, patients with weak immunity should receive a booster dose within 1-3 months. They should get the jab immediately if they have not received one in the last three months.
The Royal College of Physicians of Thailand has announced guidelines in administering Covid-19 vaccines to vulnerable groups and patients with weak immunity:
1. Those who have received two doses of Sinovac or Sinopharm should wait for a month after their latest dose to receive as many as three mRNA doses, with a one-month interval between each dose.
2. Those who have been administered two doses of Astra Zeneca, Pfizer or Moderna should wait for a month after their latest dose to receive two doses of mRNA vaccine, with a one-month gap between each dose.
3. Those who have been administered a combination of vaccines should wait for a month after their latest dose to receive two doses of mRNA vaccine, with a one-month interval between each dose.
The college also provided guidelines on vaccines for patients with weak immunity who have been infected with Covid-19:
1. Patients who have been administered two doses of Sinovac or Sinopharm should wait for a month after they have been infected and receive two doses of mRNA vaccine, with an interval of one month between each dose.
2. Patients who have been administered two doses of Astra Zeneca, Pfizer or Moderna should wait for a month after they have been infected and receive a dose of mRNA vaccine.
3. Patients who have been administered a combination of vaccines should wait for a month after being infected and receive a dose of mRNA vaccine.
Patients can ask their doctors for vaccines as the Royal College of Physicians of Thailand is cooperating with the Department of Disease Control to distribute vaccines to these groups.
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