In Thailand, it’s the all-important tourism sector that has jumped to the head of the Covid-19 vaccination line, with the country’s most popular resort island embarking on a mass inoculation programme two months ahead of the rest of Thailand.

The island of Phuket aims to deliver shots to at least 460,000 people – the majority of its population – as it gears up for 1 July, when vaccinated overseas visitors will no longer be required to quarantine.

Phuket also has its own international airport, which means tourists should be able to visit the island without posing any coronavirus risk to the rest of Thailand’s population.

“If we can build immunity for 70-80% of the population on the island, we can receive foreign tourists who have been vaccinated without the need for quarantine,” Phuket’s Vice Governor Piyapong Choowong told Reuters.

"I pledge to bring 950,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to Phuket and inoculate 70% of the local population by June. If we cannot reach this target, the tourism sandbox will not occur," Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the tourism and sports minister, told more than 300 hotel operators at a meeting last week.

That June deadline makes it a race against time as the province has now only booked 100,000 doses