Nonthaburi Student Vaccination Site ready to open at IMPACT

Published : 2021-10-15

Nonthaburi Province, led by the Nonthaburi Provincial Public Health Office and the Nonthaburi Provincial Education Office in collaboration with IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Muang Thong Thani, gets ready for the opening of the Nonthaburi Student Vaccination Site. Scheduled for October 15-17 this year, the site will provide more than 68,000 students between the ages of 12 and 18 with Covid-19 vaccinations.

The vaccination site will be collectively administered by a team of 1,200 healthcare professionals at 80 separate injection stations. It is expected that 3,000 students will be vaccinated per hour and they will remain seated for no longer than one hour to keep social distancing and ensure peace of mind of the parents.        

Dr. Rungruethai Mualprasitporn, the Nonthaburi Provincial Public Health Doctor, revealed that the Nonthaburi Student Vaccination Site at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani is ready to provide Covid-19 vaccinations for students aged between 12 and 18 on October 15-17, 2021. She said, “According to a recent work summary meeting held by the working committee, which includes representatives from the government and private sectors, everything gets ready for the shots. The building, equipment, eligibility check and medical screening, on-site registration, vaccine distribution, preparations for vaccination, observation and ER teams, and the volunteering mission are all set to ensure availability and for a thorough understanding of the work process. The site has the capacity to vaccinate approximately 20,000 students per day.”

She continued, “Nonthaburi has about 250 schools with a total of more than 80,000 students. With a limited number of staff to support large number of schools, each of which has no proper facility for vaccination, it is likely that only 10 or 20 schools are accessible to the vaccination service if it is administered at school premises. This means the vaccination program will take nearly one month for the first dose, and almost two months for the second dose. Therefore, the Nonthaburi Provincial Public Health Office has decided to open a central vaccination site at ​​IMPACT Muang Thong Thani, which shows the readiness in all aspects. Also, with generous support from IMPACT, we are very thankful receiving a special privilege to use the facility.”

The Nonthaburi Student Vaccination Site will occupy the space of IMPACT Exhibition Center Building 5 and 6 in addition to the IMPACT Arena, which can accommodate large number of visitors so that it is possible to keep social distancing. Besides, travel to the vaccination site is fast and easy thanks to multiple entry and exit points, which are conveniently located with quick access to expressway. Moreover, with the capacity estimated to close to more than ten thousand vehicles, parking is not a concern. The Building 5 and 6 are set for vaccine injections and observation. The IMPACT Arena, which has 10,000 square meters, serves as a waiting area for up to ten thousand parents.      

The maximum vaccination capacity is 20,000 per day. However, vaccine injections will be allotted to an average of 3,000 per hour, or 50 per minute, to keep social distancing. There will be a total of 1,200 healthcare professionals and medical staff working on 80 separate vaccination stations, plus 2,000 seats available for observation after being vaccinated. This ensures each student will not need to stay longer than one hour at the site. No congestion is expected.

“Here, on-duty staff and members of all supporting teams from the Nonthaburi Provincial Public Health Office, the Phranangklao Hospital, and community hospitals in Nonthaburi Province have gained practical knowledge of Pfizer vaccines and experience in vaccination site management from many previous sites. We believe that they will be able to deliver fast and effective vaccination services to all Nonthaburi Province’s students so that the vaccinated students will return to their school on schedule with the necessary safeguards.”

Mr. Taweesak Teerakiatkamjorn, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Bangkok Land Public Company Limited, who currently manage IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, said: “The IMPACT management team is aware of the prevention and creation of immunities to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are therefore pleased and willing to cooperate and support Nonthaburi Province by providing the IMPACT Exhibition and the IMPACT Arena for establishing a vaccination site to serve Nonthaburi students. For a 3-day period of confirmation, 68,000 students have confirmed to visit. Allotments will be 20,000 for the first day, with 23,000 and 25,000 students to be vaccinated on the second and third day respectively. It is expected that 20,000 parents will accompany their children per day.”

IMPACT has also set up a supporting team to assist parents and students during vaccination and help site set-up and installation, space cleaning, preparations of equipment, tables, and chairs, and get everything ready for the vaccination service. Also, the strict IMPACT We Care measures continue to prevent the spread of Covide-19. These include safety measures for areas of food and beverage service as well as the availability of well-trained security guards responsible for safety and traffic flow.  The indoor and outdoor parking capacity is more than 15,000 vehicles. Parking areas will open from 6:00 am.

There will also be a collaborative effort from public transport service providers, including taxis, public vans, buses, and minibuses to provide increasing number of passengers to and from the vaccination site with the convenience of transportation.  Shuttle buses will be available to transport visitors from outdoor parking areas to the main vaccination building. For fast and effective communication, a coordination team will be in place to provide useful information and answers to inquiries via multiple social media platforms such as Facebook (www.facebook.com/IMPACTvenue), IMPACT app, and LINE (@IMPACTMUANGTHONG).