Industry representatives call on government to prioritise vaccination, include tourism workers in first rollout

Phuket is going it alone as it eyes herd immunity as the only lifeline for its devastated tourism industry. Business groups on the southern resort island have announced a plan to finance the vaccination of 70% of the island’s population, in the hope of being able to open to foreign tourists from October. The groups involved, which include the Phuket Tourism Association and the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, say they cannot afford to wait for the government’s national vaccine rollout, although their plan will still require government approval.

Business groups say they plan to pool resources to fund the vaccination of 70% of over 18s in the hope this will give the local population herd immunity and enable the island to re-open to international tourism by October. As part of the plan, called “Phuket First October”, the current mandatory 14-day quarantine would be waived for…