People queue to buy subsidised Covid-19 coronavirus rapid antigen (ATK) tests at a Government Pharmaceutical Organisation pharmacy in Bangkok in Jan, 2022. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Ministry of Public Health said the country spent a total of 444 billion THB (2.8 billion USD) on public health to contain the spread of COVID-19 and vaccinate its population during the three years of the pandemic.
The ministry said that the cost of testing and treating people for COVID-19 accounted for more than half of the total spending, at 260 billion THB, while vaccine procurement and distribution expenses were estimated at 78 billion THB.
The government also spent 57.5 billion THB in compensation to victims and as incentives to medical personnel in the three years.
The government covered the cost of treatment and vaccination for all citizens between 2020 and 2022, with the bulk of the funding coming from the annual budget. Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy also borrowed 1.5 trillion THB to stimulate the economy and partly cover the cost of emergency public health services.
Thailand, the first country outside China to report a COVID-19 case, was successful in containing the virus spread during the early stages with a nationwide lockdown and closed borders, before a wave of infections swept the nation during the outbreaks of the Delta and Omicron variants.
The country reported 4.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 33,911 deaths as of Feb 25, the World Health Organization reported./.
