Thailand to administer monkeypox vaccines

Thailand's health ministry said on Monday that it has planned to administer the monkeypox vaccines to high-risk groups.

The first batch of 1,000 doses of vaccine is expected to arrive in Thailand in the second half of this month, according to the ministry.

The first batch of vaccines will be available for 500 people, but the authorities have not decided on which groups to prioritize yet, said Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control.

Thailand has reported two monkeypox cases so far. The first case was a Nigerian man who tested positive in Phuket island, and the second was a Thai man identified in Bangkok.

According to health authorities, close contacts of the confirmed cases have been traced and so far no further monkeypox infections have officially been detected in the Southeast Asian country yet.