The government’s Covid-19 task force says places like Phuket and Pattaya, which are heavily reliant on international tourism, will be considered “high priority” for vaccination. The Pattaya News reports that Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday.
The southern island of Phuket – along with a number of other tourism-dependent locations – had been hoping to purchase vaccines privately, in order to inoculate enough of its residents to achieve herd immunity. It was hoped that this would mean the island could re-open to international tourists from October. However, the government has put a stop to the plan, in a move that generated furious criticism from the tourism sector.
Places like Phuket and Pattaya are nearly entirely dependent on tourism, with both listed in the…
