2 hours ago, rott said:

And who would be entitled to be vaccinated by the Red Cross.? 

I'd guess they're for the stateless folk here.

Such spending MAY have been justified if the entire army, from every general, down to all the conscripts, had been out patrolling the land borders these last 15 months.

(My working theory is that illegal entrants, and big-shots on casino runs, etc, is what has introduced much of the virus.)

But no, at this time of crisis, it seems the army had no particular role (other than to secure it's hold on government).

The law should have listed exceptions, e.g.

1. sitting at a restaurant with food or beverage on the table

2. infants and children under the age of ....

3. carrying a medical exemption

Often the comments are about the number of new cases ... but I look at the number of new deaths each day with concern ... daily having to tell myself: "But for the grace of God ..."

Frustrating that vaccines exist, but here they are unobtainable.

" ... with deliveries expected later this year" ... seems oddly vague - why not just specify exactly what the contracts actually say about the delivery dates.

Better ramp-up the vaccination program then ...

I'll believe it when it's published in the Royal Gazette.

To get to the bottom of this third surge, and despite all the contact tracing, etc, we are never told what percentage of the infected are aliens (or Thais) who have snuck in (without quarantine). 

16 hours ago, Forza2002 said:

The adult population (Aged 18+) of Thailand is ~53M. Assume ~2.5M have had 1st dose already, balance is ~50.5M... With only 7 months remaining this year that would require 7.2M injections monthly, 240,000 daily. Tall order... bottleneck will be vaccine supply and assumes 24/7 injections, no days off!!

If your math is correct, why hasn't every Thai news service pointed this out, and challenged the Czar's pledge as very likely not achievable?

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Security forces deployed after Covid-19 patients tried to flee field hospital during power outage

 

More than 500 Covid-19 patients, all Myanmar nationals, tried to escape from a field hospital in Phetchaburi province during a power outage on Thursday evening, a news source revealed.

 

The field hospital has been set up within the Cal-Comp Electronics Thailand factory, in Khao Yoi district, about 100 kilometres southwest of Bangkok, after 682 workers tested positive earlier this month.

 

“At around 6pm, there was an electrical malfunction at the hospital, as a result electric fans stopped working,” said the source. “About 500 patients were upset due to the hot and crowded conditions and tried to escape from the building.”

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001402

 

Oh, great - a "field hospital" ... but no back-up generator.

Worse: no existing plan in the event of a blackout, other than telling everyone to just stay put.

Well, good luck to them.

Hope the research is properly conducted, with proper safeguards ... the last time animal diseases were "studied" - a pandemic was unleashed, probably unwittingly, but nevertheless cornors may have been cut under the pressure to get published research 

Well, I can't blame them for trying - they are no doubt under pressure from local businesses to "do something" - so making up this complex scheme, and putting it five months away, at least gives the impression that "something is being done".

As at now, who would want to come: All entertainment  is closed, no adult-drinks with your dining out, block after block of closed and shuttered businesses. It's not a pretty picture.

The way it's done around here: promise what people want to hear, to be effective (so many) months from now ... issue the press release .... then onto lunch.

1. It wasn't a good look with the Czar boasting his second vax-shot around the same time he just abandoned the App that everybody else had to use.

2. It seems the government declined to join the COVAX scheme, and is now no doubt last on all the suppliers lists, which is why they promise everyone will be vaxed, but are unable to say when.

3. Pity there seems delays at the local A-Z production facility - never good to put all your eggs in one basket.

Well, I suppose they have a budget that they have to spend (and skim) - or they risk not getting the budget next year.

I don't know what the Thais think, but it seems a bad look to me: to be putting effort and money into this kind of consumption (for the middle and upper classes?)  ... when vaccines are rare ...

... and announcing it on the day of the highest ever covid-death-toll, and with hundreds in a serious medical condition.

These days I avoid the shops and malls this promotion is aimed at (except extremely briefly, and only for necessities) ... It is not really wise to hang around in enclosed, possibly poorly ventilated buildings, coming into close contact with others ...

1 hour ago, natway09 said:

Being right on the border right now, I am telling you this is a monumental task guys & for those of you spouting on Thai visa from the comfort of your armchair to have 100% non arrival rate is just not feasible with the extent of the land borders.

Most folks from islands like OZ, NZ & UK just have no comprehension of just the terrain alone even with 50,000 border patrols  it is an unenviable task in particular that in the past it did not really matter

Point taken.

However, the PM has an army of 360,000 at his disposal - yet he issues this directive to "scurity authorities" ... whoever they are - the police?

The stakes are high (increasing infections, snail-pace vaxing) - no one here wants to be part of an India- or Brazil-like state of chaos.

Teething problems I see.

Didn't they get some experience already on how to do this (from the 2% already vaxed) ... or does every new vaxxing center just start from scratch and work it out as they go, by trial and error.

41 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

BMA and military told prepare facilities to handle surge in COVID-19 infections

 

The first step calls for expansion of the capacity of the BMA’s hospitals and assembly of field type hospital extensions, to accommodate more than 5,500 patients, up from the current 1,218.

 

If infections increase, the second step calls for non-severe cases to be quarantined and treated in hotels, to be arranged by the BMA.

 

In the third step, the City Hall must set up a field hospital, modelled on the one in Samut Sakhon, using the facilities at Bangkok Arena, the Thai-Japanese sports stadium and the Bang Khun Thian hospital.

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/bma-and-military-told-prepare-facilities-to-handle-surge-in-covid-19-infections/

Good.

... but at the present rate of new infections, that's just two days worth.

66.5 billion baht budget for 881 campaigns - that's a lot of auditing they'll have to do.

I'd have thought there were more pressing issues at present, but good luck to them.

"by September" - just kicking the can down the road: no doubt, it's seen today as a date sufficiently far away, to take some pressure off the Czar.

Just wondering:

- who are the 70% and why was that percentage was chosen

- what's the plan for the second dose

-if a single dose is deemed to be of use, why have politicans had their second dose before others have received their first dose