THAILAND APPROVES COVAXIN JABBED TRAVELERS TO THE LAND OF SMILES

Trav Buzz News, 01 Dec 2021

Thailand currently approves 8 COVID-19 vaccines, and everyone 18 years of age and older should get fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before travelling to the Kingdom, while rules differ for those under 18 years. Here’s an update to our guide to COVID-19 vaccines for international travellers to Thailand.

International travellers, including returning Thais and foreign residents, who are above 18 years of age should get fully vaccinated for COVID-19 with a vaccine approved by Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) or the World Health Organisation (WHO) no less than 14 days before their travel date.

For travellers under 18 years, the following new rules will apply from 16 December, 2021, pending official announcement in the Royal Thai Government Gazette.

Travellers 12-17 years of age, travelling with parents under the TEST & GO entry scheme and Sandbox Programme, are not required to be vaccinated but must have a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours before travelling. Those unaccompanied must get vaccinated with at least one dose of an approved vaccine and must have a negative RT-PCR test result.

Travellers 6-11 years of age, travelling with parents under the TEST & GO entry scheme and Sandbox Programme, must have a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours before travelling.

Travellers under 6 years of age, travelling with parents with a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours before travelling, are not required to have a pre-arrival negative RT-PCR test result and can have saliva test when entering to the Kingdom.

Travellers previously infected within 3 months before travelling must have a medical certificate of recovery or get vaccinated with at least one dose of an approved vaccine for an unspecified period of times before travelling.

List of approved COVID-19 vaccines

Currently, the MoPH has approved the following manufacturers and vaccines:

1. CoronaVac by Sinovac Biotech Ltd – 2 doses needed / 2-4-week interval;
2. AstraZeneca or Covishield by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, SK Bioscience (South Korea), Siam Bioscience, and Serum Institute of India (Covishield) – 2 doses needed / 4-12-week interval;
3. Pfizer–BioNTech or Comirnaty by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech 2 doses needed / 3-week interval;
4. Janssen or Janssen/Ad26.COV2.S by Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. – 1 dose needed;
5. Moderna by Moderna Inc. – 2 doses needed / 4-week interval);
6. Sinopharm or COVILO by Sinopharm Co., Ltd. – 2 doses needed / 3-4-week interval);
7. Sputnik V by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology – 2 doses needed – 3-week interval);
8. Covaxin by Bharat Biotech International Limited – 2 doses needed / 4-week interval.

Meanwhile, the WHO’s guidance on the COVID-19 vaccines is available here.

Have you been fully vaccinated?

According to the MoPH, travellers are considered fully vaccinated if:

• They get their second dose of a 2-dose vaccine; such as, the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines, no less than 14 days before their travel date to Thailand.
• They get a single-dose vaccine; such as, Janssen vaccine, no less than 14 days before their travel date to Thailand.
• In case of mix-and-match vaccines, travellers should get their second dose of a different vaccine within the recommended interval of the first vaccine no less than 14 days before their travel date to Thailand. For example, if the first vaccine is CoronaVac from Sinovac Biotech and the second vaccine is AstraZeneca, the time between the two doses is 2-4 weeks.

Travellers who do not meet these criteria may be denied entry into Thailand.

Requirements for the ‘Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination’

The travellers’ Certificate of COVID-19 Vaccination should contain the following details:

• Given name and last name;
• Date of Birth;   
• Nationality;
• Passport or Identification No.;
• Name of the COVID-19 vaccine;
• Vaccination dates;
• Vaccine manufacturer and lot/batch number;
• Authorised organisation in the country of origin.