herfiehandbag

1 hour ago, Venom said:

I agree but with stipulation that foreigners pay for it themselves for the very simple reason that they are not covered under Thai healthcare system.   Private hospitals will be forced to purchase from the government but I believe they will be front of the cue as they will have cash in hand. 

I'm sure that we will have to pay, but then we pay for all our medical treatment. I accept that, but object to the (possible) blatant profiteering that may creep in.

If it is AZ's vaccine (as seems likely) and given that AZ is at least partly a British company, with it's headquarters in the UK, should that come to pass, I may stir things up a bit with them. They are after all supposed to be producing the stuff on a "not for profit basis"!

There are quite a lot of British people here, so we may be listened to if enough of us shout loudly and coherently; certainly more likely to produce a reaction than contacting the Embassy - they will be far too busy pressing their "immaculate chinos" to misquote a laudatory press article from a couple of years back!

5 hours ago, newnative said:

    So, they're 'speeding things up' but it's still going to be far off June before any vaccine is produced.  June was the original date so where exactly is the 'speeding up'???   Meanwhile, why can't AZ send some vaccines NOW to bridge the long gap before local production starts?

Just now, placnx said:

We should ask Biden to share some AZ from their stock.

I should imagine that both Astra Zenneca and Mr Biden's administration are under no illusions that releasing stocks of vaccine to Thailand which are equally urgently required elsewhere may likely simply serve to feather some already well stuffed nests.

Thailand's biggest problem in negotiating any such deals is quite possibly international trust and goodwill in such matters.

I do understand that one could be criticised for linking medical provision to construction projects (although it doesn't seem to matter when it comes to ministerial appointments!) but "Hopewell" anybody?

Reap what you sow and all that...

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Ridiculous. Buildings, guns, subs, tanks, whilst the public have no real pensions and social welfare 

Ah, but remember, these buildings, guns , subs and tanks play their part in providing the pension pots and welfare of some very "influential people".

Properly managed, if all goes according to plan, the latest example of "Czardom" should break all records to ensure a very financially secure future for some. It could be the gift that keeps on giving should Thailand achieve "hub" status!

The rest of you, back to the farms with you. Nothing that some paracetamol and a few herbal pills can't fix!

Just hope that the wheelnuts don't come loose...

2 hours ago, DLock said:

Better getting a tracking device for Ole Fatty...you know he just wanders off...

You could disguise it as a watch, just to make sure he wears it...

On 4/28/2021 at 9:22 AM, Excel said:

Well ask yourselves this:-  do you think the approval delays and red tape is due to the normal Thai bureaucratic process and would occur at any other times, or could it be a deliberate and concerted effort by the PM and his controller to ensure vaccines will only be purchased from an internal source ? Not withstanding the moral issues should that latter option be the case but like all monopolies here, or pseudo monopolies afforded to the very few,  this brings inflated costs that would fill the trough significantly further, to the detriment of course to the other 99% of the Thai nation.

Basically yes to the second question! Particularly as the "Czar" has now divined that the Government has sourced sufficient vaccines for the country.

It was a close run thing though - for 48 hours or so it looked like the monopoly might crumble!

That said, provide the right official(s) with sufficient "influence" and I am sure that permission to import vaccines will be forthcoming.

The stakes are high, so it will cost...

19 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Why would I need another mask, I've been using the same one for over a year.

It's still got plenty of use left in it.

I should imagine practically nothing can get through the fibres now!

17 hours ago, gunderhill said:

Has  somebody found the light switch and turned it  on?

A monopoly is at risk...

On 4/22/2021 at 4:39 PM, Sheryl said:

You will be able to get it when it is available. The "when" is the problem.

On 4/23/2021 at 9:01 AM, Thaifly88 said:

I have heard that Thai nationals are in the front of the queue for the vaccine. That makes no sense in terms of the spread of the virus.

I must confess that I have seen nothing to suggest ( other than speculation here) that foreigners are being kept to the back of the queues.

I have been told by the local hospital diabetic clinic with whom I am registered that I will be eligible along with the other patients. When that may be is unknown...

6 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

If that pillock is in charge we're all cattle trucked, when oh when is someone with brains gonna be running this country ?

Funnily enough, I can think of one chap, with a proven track record in running things, driven by empathy, with a team of energetic, able and enthusiastic young associates and plenty of public support, especially from younger people.

Unfortunately he may (or may not) have allowed the ownership of some shares in a dormant media company overlap with his entry into the political arena for a few hours!

Such a shame, things could have been different if he and his team had been part of a government dealing with this. Still, cannot be helped, that's the way democracy works; time marches on - waddling rapidly (double time!) towards the nearest khazi!

Somehow harks back to a less terrible time, when the only worry was what bizarre but basically harmless idea was next!

I misread the headline at first glance.

I thought it said "Health Ministry celebrates..."

Nothing out of the ordinary says I....

He will stay, there is lots of wear in that shirt yet!

8 hours ago, JimHuaHin said:

Too little, too slow, too late.

 

When will the senior Thai military officers realise that COVID-19 is a national security threat, and act accordingly?

Please don't suggest that it is a "national security threat". 

When/if that is declared there will be a collective groan from a variety of people in uniform, as they come in their underpants, and the incoherent barking of orders and uncoordinated application of pointless restrictions will begin, most of which will have nothing to do with combatting the pandemic and everything to do with firming up their grip on power. There are people (many) in authority who just live for a decent "national security threat"!

It is a major health problem, which needs sound advice on how to overcome it (which I am sure is available from the experts in the health and scientific professions) together with effective leadership and coordinated clearly directed  action from those in government.

What have I just said, rereading that last phrase, we're "Donald Ducked"!

18 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

The only thing cheaper than J&J is AZ.

AZ is "spoken for" within Thailand, so the price is irrelevant.

If one is purchasing from abroad, then a higher priced product may bring with it some advantages...

2 hours ago, John Drake said:

 

Neither Sputnik or Pfizer has begun the approval process, whereas J&J and Moderna have. So why isn't he asking for Moderna and J&J? 

More attractive "conditions" attached?

On 4/26/2021 at 6:54 AM, jacko45k said:

It will be down.... obviously. But it is going to be the same the world over. Everyone on here has this image of Thailand being largely dependent on tourism, and ignore the sizeable manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors, and healthy FCD.

I think that the difference in Thailand is that most of the economic activities you describe are geographically concentrated, and really only benefit the communities in those areas. Even agriculture, if you take away the rice bowls of the central plain and the vast southern rubber plantations, is largely based on subsistence and growing produce for first hand sale in local markets.

That means that Thailand has a disproportionately large labour force that is dependent on low skilled cash paid work to support themselves, either as self employed or casual labour. They in turn often support large extended families " back on the farm". That sector has suffered hugely from the virtual total demise of the tourist industry, on which it was heavily dependent. As we have read on this thread, chances of it reviving long to mid term are slim.

So although the sectors you mention may be depressed, jobs, income and prospects for recovery for many outside those sectors have gone.

20 hours ago, Excel said:

The Indian government is promoting space programs, not the hundreds of millions of poor Indians who are suffering. So which countries do you consider it is ok to send aid to then ?

It is a rock and a hard place situation isn't it? We (the UK) send aid to both India and Pakistan. Both countries are competing in an arms race ( which includes nuclear weapons and delivery systems). India has a space programme. Pakistan's government and judiciary effectively condone discrimination against women, and widespread persecution and even lynching of Christians is again condoned, and it's perpetrators go unpunished. Yet millions In both countries try to survive in grinding poverty, with virtually no health care, and are desperate for any aid which can reach them. Suspicion abounds that much of the aid is misused. Yet it would be so wrong to turn our back on those in need.

Sometimes I think that the corruption and wickedness makes the venality here look like a chimps tea party!

On 4/21/2021 at 10:02 AM, jackdd said:

Great that they have plans how to distribute the vaccines. They just overlooked that they don't have the vaccines. These people seem just as clueless as the government.

They are, overall, probably more likely to be effective in obtaining and delivering vaccines, be they Chinese, Russian, European or American than the collection of blundering monopoly protecting buffoons who are currently creating the utter cluster#### we are watching! 

2 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Very dangerous assigning country names to variants of this virus, as we are not 100% sure where they originated, only where they were first discovered.

 

Of course the original strain came from China, of that there is no question, however I believe the Chinese are now claiming the virus came from Europe originally. 

Marco Polo was responsible!

On 4/21/2021 at 12:36 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

So why are international schools closed then?  They only just started Term 3.

International Schools work to a different syllabus and term arrangements than Thai schools.

Thai schools broke up for the main holiday of the year in early April. They were scheduled to reopen in mid May. That may now be postponed for a couple of weeks.

International Schools which were due to start their "term 3" ( Thai schools only have two 20 week Semesters with a short holiday in November and a long one in April/May) have simply been caught by the partial lockdown imposed in the last couple of weeks.