Mansell

Talked with a friend in California who is an infectious diseases specialist about Sinovac etc for my Thai wife, with Astra Zenicka for second shot. He said it is better than nothing, even though Sinovac is only 50 percent effective. Though the good news is it has very few side effects. He told me that Sputnik is 90 percent effective, which is supposedly coming to Thailand. From the sounds coming out of the WHO we will all probably be needing booster shots in the future, especially if more variants appear. So it would seem prudent to get what you can now, and later go for a Pfizer as a booster etc. Also a doctor in BKK highly recommended double masking against the Delta variant……which my family is doing. Good luck everybody.

Yesterday in the Pattaya suburb of Nong Prue they were accepting registrations for upcoming vaccines at a big school. I went with my Thai wife, though I couldn’t go inside, and a thousand or more were registered. This would be for Sinovac followed later by the Astra Zenika.

The rule of thumb in Thailand for any vehicle or motorbike is, “Your job is to avoid me and my vehicle.” That is how they drive here….they have no training and common sense doesn’t exist. Overtaking on blind bends happens every day. When I’m driving the car mopeds will cross in front of me forcing me to brake to avoid them. Sometimes I would like to be driving a Humvee with a big cow catching grill on the front and ….BANG! “Oh sorry.” If the government cared as much about traffic deaths (I believe the highest in the world) as they do about Covid and lockdowns they might start resolving this issue.

I was under the impression the whole country was on lockdown, especially Pattaya. But just talked with wife’s friend in Nakhon Sawan that you can eat in a restaurant there etc…..there is no real lockdown there. Here you cannot even play tennis, which is odd because five people can meet, but only four play doubles! One of our favorite restaurants Kiss has closed them all down temporarily around Pattaya….crazy stuff not being able to eat in a restaurant. Some good offers on 50 percent off on Indian food deliveries though. I suppose we are very lucky compared to many countries, and the continent of Africa. More patience needed for me.

And they closed the outdoor tennis courts. When playing doubles there are only four people, but you can have gatherings of five people. I ride my bicycle along the beach at Jomtien, and they closed off a parks bike paths, but us bikers find a way to keep riding. Out door exercise…..tell me what is wrong with it Thai government?

Can I get my Thai wife vaccinated through this initiative?

I’ve told my wife if I die grab the ATM card and withdraw everything but 50 baht immediately. Do not hesitate, do not pass go, before you get my death validated, get the money…..then call the authorities.

Saw a Thai dude with his metal detector on Jomtien beach…..actually it was a mine detector…..he found a mine and fell into it…..so I grabbed his detector and ran off. I did hear faint screams, but figured it was a lost jet ski person.

Neeranam, I agree with you. I think Thais should be getting the vaccines as fast as foreigners. I am concerned for my Thai wife, and Thais across the country who are not being made a priority. They should all be getting the good vaccines, and as fast as possible…..young and old. We know the government and military have all got their vaccines, and probably weeks ago. Thailand should have ordered 150 million vaccines just to start with, and then another 150 million for second jabs. We need to get the country open and finish the lockdown….and vaccines are the key to that happening. Most foreigners care about the Thai people, and we don’t want them dying because of government incompetence. “Vaccinate Thailand Now.”

From my experience they had no idea where I lived (Pattaya) and just contacted me with the date and hospital in BKK. Nobody said anything while there, and they didn’t take blood pressure or temp. The info came in on my phone as a text message…..fortunately I happened to look at it that day. Keep registering wherever you can, eventually you’ll strike gold and hopefully Pfizer.

I am American, and I got Pfizer yesterday in BKK after signing up last week. And I am I Pattaya. Just sign up on as many lists as possible…..that is what I did. They don’t care where you are from. They seem to have got on the ball with the Pfizer now.

Drove up to BKK from Pattaya today for Pfizer at Samitivej Hospital in Sukhumvit. Seems to be a Japanese hospital…..very nice place. I signed up for as many places as I could for the Pfizer expecting to be notified for this Wednesday…..out of the blue on Friday they said Monday…..never heard of this hospital before Friday. Highly efficient and guided easily through a number of rooms, and then injected, then sat for 30 minutes. I return on the 12th Sept for part two. Disappointingly they wouldn’t inject my wife, and said it would be next year before that happens……Thais deserve better than that. I would suggest you signup for as many places as possible, then hopefully they will text you pretty quickly. Driving up we were at the hospital 1 hour 45 minutes at noon. We were supposed to be there between 1 and 3pm, but they were taking everybody immediately. I asked how many today, and they said 400. Good luck guys.