wasabi

If you want to prevent the likelihood of death from Covid having multiple doses of Sinovac is certainly better than nothing. But if you want to avoid hospitalizations and the economic burden of having people getting sick (but not dying) there are better choices.

The Phuket sandbox is a rebranded ASQ Quarantine. A few foreign tourists might truly yearn to be locked down in Phuket with tracking bracelets and tar balls then return home but most (of the small total) are likely expats who see it as an easier way to get back into the country. Many more like myself won't return until all Covid related restrictions are lifted.  I will be surprised if the number from the sandbox is greater than a few hundred for July, but I could see Farangs being blamed either way. 1) Farangs refused to come to Thailand. 2) If there is a new covid outbreak the Farangs will be blamed.

If vaccines from all possible sources had been the focus from day 1 Phuket could probably be much more than a sandbox right now. 

Too bad Thailand isn't on the list. At least by staying out of Covax no one's feelings were hurt which matters more than the economy or any number of other deleterious effects of a runaway pandemic. The US is not sending any AZ vax due to "technical errors" maybe US is saving a bit of face too.

Biden drops AstraZeneca vaccine from latest donation - POLITICO

Just because there are not enough days left in the calendar to come close to achieving 70% fully vaccinated by July 1st doesn't mean it isn't somehow possible in Thailand. Remember they have their own PM 2.5 standard that is different than the rest of the world too. Thai people have superior lungs, and immune systems that allow these variances.

Countries using exclusively mRNA vaccines are doing the best. Thailand bet on the wrong horse both vaccines and leadership though leadership and choice is dubious here.

Well they are going to have so many vials of Sinovac here they can just keep injecting it every few weeks until they ratchet up the efficacy. 

"Your appointment for the 10th Sinovac vacation is confirmed."

The most effective mRNA vaccines are harder to store and transport. They also require specific steps to ready for injection that is not immediate. There is little room for error but you'd never know a batch was spoiled just by looking at vials. If Thailand ever does get their hands on these the likelihood that anyone but private hospitals could manage the storage, transport and preparation to inject is small. So there could be quite a few "placebo" shots happening if they start trying to roll these out in villages and shopping malls.

37 minutes ago, Flying Saucage said:

I think quite a lot of Pheu Thais clientele will not appreciate this statement, given how many people from Isaan work in the tourism industry.

 

Anyway, everyone should see that the main problem in Thailand regarding Covid are the working and living conditions of workers, especially of migrant workers, who have to live and work together often under very cramped conditions. And, of course, the terrible situation in Thai jails.

 

Everything else you can compare relatively good with the situation in Europe now, where the weather now is similar to Thailand, and where the numbers are dropping strongly due to summer. People stay most time outdoors, and the hot weather is not much appreciated by the virus. Of course, the vaccination rate in Europe is higher, but around 25% fully vaccinated people is still far from herd immunity.

 

Therefore, tourists who spend most time outdoors anyway will never cause problems similar to those in factories and dormitories. Still there is a residual risk from unvaccinated tourists, though. But this can be minimised by testing prior the flight.

 

A good start would be to open to fully vaccinated tourists, because the risk coming from them is close to zero, if they are tested additionally before the flight. And again, tourists stay outdoors for the most time anyway, at the beaches, at the pools, when sightseeing, in the restaurant, in the bars. So, where is the risk from vaccinated tourists? It's literally tiny!

 

The benefit for the Thai economy will be much bigger than the risk.

 

 

 

At every step they have failed to weigh risk vs rewards, but I agree with your post. Hopefully Thai hygiene theater & xenophobia gives way to the economic needs of the Thai people who cannot afford to wait for every cough to be cured and every surface to be scrubbed. I am a dedicated traveler to Thailand, but I won't be coming until at most proof of vaccination is required. 

They may add a rule if you do not walk at least 10,000 steps a day you will pay double for health insurance. Might as well put the wristband to full use.

I agree you should not live in Thailand without health insurance, but covering both my wife and I with high deductible insurance is less than $100 a month for us. This is US Based Blue Cross insurance and it does work in Thailand for emergencies.

I can imagine a teacher asking a class of Thai business students what would you do if you wanted to strip away everything Tourists love about Thailand and specifically Phuket and this plan being their answer.

But the fact this is not a satire shows why there are no legitimate business schools in Thailand.

None of these sealed and quarantine plans are not working. They should thus begin to do what they really want.

Install touch free turnstiles at Thai immigration > Have Farangs walk through > Place all cash into a touch free counting machine; if no cash use touch free credit card scanners > Create lighted pathway to the departure wing > Charge a few additional fees for the privilege of visiting the airport before boarding > charge additional fees if every page of passport was not signed and photocopied twice > Bon voyage back to Farangland.

Thailand could get back to pre-covid levels sometime in the next 5-25 years.

Interesting that Laos already has double the population % of fully vaccinated citizens. The magic of Covax and humility.

The problem with our curent glorious leaders is they think they are not running a poor third world country and don't need programs like Covax. But that type of thinking is exactly what keeps them poor and third world. Because now they are in the back of the line trying to buy vaccines unavailable at any price.