The Ministry of Public Health is advising people seeking a booster shot of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to get injected with the full 100-microgram dose despite some information pointing to a half-dosage shot being able to satisfactorily improve immunity.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said people who have been injected with inactivated virus vaccines may receive their third shot, also known as a booster shot, free of charge.
He said it was his ministry’s policy to provide the booster shot to people in Thailand.
Department of Disease Control (DDC) Director-General Opas Karnkawinpong indicated that people who have been fully inoculated with inactivated vaccines are advised to get a booster shot that uses another technology, such as viral vector or mRNA.
He advised against these individuals getting a third shot of an inactivated vaccine, as doing so would not boost immunity.
Dr. Opas further explained that although research indicates that half a dose, or 50 micrograms, of an mRNA vaccine administered as a third shot would be enough to boost immunity, there was yet no clarity on how long said immunity would last.
Therefore, it is currently advised that booster shot receivers get injected with the full dose of 100 micrograms.
