Bangkok (VNA)⭕ – Thailand’s Prime Minister PrayutChan-o-cha has called on public health authorities to speed up COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5-11 as the virus continues to spread among kids and theirvaccination rate remains very low.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on February6 the prime minister was concerned about the rate of coronavirus infections inthis segment of the population and wanted them to be quickly vaccinated. Infections among this group totalled 123,403 between Aprilto December last year, or 13,711 cases a month on average, while cases fromJanuary to February 2 this year reached 10,266, according to Government Housefigures. The Ministry of Public Health has offered the first round ofPfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 since January 31 on avoluntary basis. The second jab is planned from February 26. Children aged six or more will also have the option of aSinovac or Sinopharm shot in the future after the Chinese-made vaccine wasapproved by the Food and Drug Administration, he added. The total number of children in Thailand in the 5-11 agebracket is 5 million but only about 41,000, or 0.8 percent, have received thefirst jab as of February 5, according to ministry data. On February 7 morning, Thailand announced 10,470 new COVID-19 cases and12 related death over the previous 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to over 2.5 million and deathtoll to 22,303./.