A Covid-19 vaccination unit has been set up at MBK Centre in downtown Bangkok to provide booster jabs for those whose last Covid jab was more than three months ago.

Deputy governor Tavida Kamolvej on Friday officially opened a temporary vaccination unit on the 6th floor in Zone D of the MBK Centre shopping mall.

Tavida said the unit has been set up in collaboration with the Medical Service Department and Klang Hospital. People can walk in between 9am and 3pm daily to get a free jab of the Moderna bivalent vaccine.

Candidates must be at least 12 years old and have been vaccinated earlier or recovered from a Covid-19 infection more than three months ago. They must also provide proof of vaccination.

Foreigners can also get a jab by presenting their passports, but fees may apply.

The unit will be open daily until May 12 and then again on the weekends of May 20-21 and May 27-28.

The deputy governor added that the number of daily Covid-19 patients in the city has risen from around 100 before Songkran to over 1,000 after the festival.

“This is because people lowered their guard during celebrations by not wearing face masks in public places,” she said. “However, this number is not worrying as it is similar to the number of influenza infections during summer.”

She added that most of the new patients had mild or no symptoms and could be treated as outpatients. The number of patients admitted to hospital, however, has only risen by about 10 per day.

Separately, she said, there are concerns that a new wave of infections may be sparked once schools open for the second semester on May 16. Hence, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt has ordered for vaccination units to be set up at convenient locations like shopping malls, so a wider group of people can get boosters.

Apart from preventing crowding in hospitals and local public health offices, these units will also make vaccines available to foreign tourists.