After Thailand officially opened up registration for people to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, some foreigners in the country have successfully been able to register to receive the jab.
On Saturday (1 May), the Ministry of Public Health launched the Mor Prom account on the Line mobile app which allows people in Thailand to register for vaccinations.
Those deemed most at risk, such as the elderly and those with chronic health conditions will be among the first to receive the jabs.
Starting in June, almost 12 million people in Thailand aged over 60, along with 4.3 million people with chronic or underlying health conditions, will start to receive the vaccination.
Underlying health conditions include severe chronic respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity
Since Mor Prom launched, there have been multiple reports on social media of foreigners successfully registering and even being given appointment dates for when they will receive the first dose of the vaccine.
However, successful registrations only appear to be possible for those who have one of the so-called ‘pink ID cards’ for foreigners or for those who have a Thai social security number.
On Saturday, a Thaivisa user reported using his pink ID card to register to receive the vaccine. You can read that report here.
Another person who reported successfully registering for the vaccine using the Mor Prom Line account has long time expat and author of the first Lonely Planet guide for Thailand, Joe Cummings.
“I registered for vaccination via Mo Phrom today using my Thai ID”, Joe posted on Twitter.
In his Twitter thread, Joe confirmed that he has a ‘pink ID card’ and that he was able to use it to register for the vaccine.
He said he was given an appointment date in June to receive the vaccination.
Meanwhile, another Twitter user @ThatOMGkid posted to say that she had been able to register using her Thai social security number via the Mor Prom app on Android, which she downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Because Mor Prom is in Thai language, @ThatOMGkid said that she was able to use Google Translate as she does not read Thai.
The news comes as the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Thursday reiterated that foreigners in Thailand would be eligible to receive the vaccine, although specific details for expats receiving the vaccine are yet to be announced.
And as for exactly which brand of vaccine may be available remains to be seen.
On Friday, health minister Anutin Charnvirakul suggested that people in Thailand will not be able to choose which Covid-19 vaccine they receive.
While private hospitals have been given approval to procure vaccinations, the government is yet to give the green light for other businesses in the private sector to do the same.
The Mor Prom Line account is available by scanning the QR code below and adding the account as as friend in the Line app.
