SURVEY: Should Thailand require foreigners to be vaccinated?

[Scott]

With the FDA approving Emergency use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and with the UK already administering it, in your opinion, should foreigners entering Thailand be required to show proof of vaccination once it is widely available?

[Rmac442]

With Korea announcing 950 new cases Thailand must do everything possible to stay Thailand 'clean' .. >75% of the country is operating near normal ..any need for 'loockdown' would destroy that ..

[bkk6060]

Yes of course, mandatory with certification.

The no vaxer folks will stay home.

[Lacessit]

IMO people should be given a choice, vaccine or quarantine. I would choose the vaccine because I am in the most vulnerable age cohort.

[Moonlover]

I believe that having a vaccination shot would give the recipients a false sense of security. No one can tell how long they would be effective for and neither can we be sure that the caronavirus won't mutate and render the vaccine useless.

 

I'm happy to take the standard precautions, as and when necessary. Which right now means virtually no precautions other than those mandated by the malls and supermarkets.

 

Big pharma won't get a penny out of me.

[Artisi]

33 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Yes of course, mandatory with certification.

The no vaxer folks will stay home.

Along with all the other fictitious thousands of foreigners just frothing at the mouth to visit. 

[Saltire]

When you say 'foreigners' many assume farang most of whom will eventually be able to get a vaccination if they want one, but actually, right now, the biggest number of foreigners in, and coming to Thailand are from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. All countries that may not be able to ever afford mass vaccinations but still need to send literally millions to Thailand to do the farming and other jobs.

 

Right now there are scares in many provinces about many illegal entries accross the borders, am pretty sure these people may never get vaccinated, or at least not for a long time.

 

I can't see quarantine disappearing for a long while yet.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Nobody has to visit Thailand. If people don't want to be vaccinated then they just stay out of Thailand.

 

And let's not pretend that Thailand is alone with setting conditions. A journalist friend in Europe wanted to go to a fair in the USA a few years ago (pre covid). When he wanted to apply for a visa he had to fill in forms with lots of personal details. No details, no visa. He didn't do it and he didn't visit the USA. And he wasn't sad about not visiting that country.

[bkk_mike]

I assume it should be tourists, not foreigners...

[Jingthing]

Should.

Schmould..

They will require it and you can take that to the baht.

Edited December 13, 2020 by Jingthing

[meechai]

27 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Should.

Schmould..

They will require it and you can take that to the baht.

 

Same with required health insurance for expats extending visa's & you can take that to the bank ????

[Marco100]

Pfizer Vaccination takes 2 shots , first at 25 mln and second , after 3 or 4 weeks at 50 min.

2 weeks after 2nd shot you are vaccinated. 

So I understood. 

Not clear yet if during the 5/6 weeks you are contagious or not ?

What about who got Covid 19 already ? Will they be vaccinated ? 

How long will vaccinated people be immune to Covid and wich strain ?

Seems a long process to me as most of population might start to get vaccinated in March / April next year ....

To me Covid test negative before boarding and 7 days quarantine should do , or Vaccination Certificate .

[natway09]

Poorly written as I presume they mean tourists entering the country not us who live here.

But ,,,yes, & must present a vaccination certificate that is 2 weeks after their 2nd jab

[GroveHillWanderer]

14 minutes ago, Marco100 said:

1. Not clear yet if during the 5/6 weeks you are contagious or not?

2. What about who got Covid 19 already? Will they be vaccinated? 

3. How long will vaccinated people be immune to Covid and wich strain ?

1 & 3 are as yet unknown (although it is understood that there are no currently-known "strains" of Covid that would elude the current vaccine candidates).

 

For 2 - yes, people who already had CoVid-19 should still be vaccinated. The evidence indicates that some people, especially those who have only mild (or asymptomatic) cases do not generate a very robust immune response, so probably don't have particularly high levels of immunity.

Edited December 13, 2020 by GroveHillWanderer

[vandeventer]

I think this is a catch 22 problem. When your 70 or older it is better that we get this vaccine because the virus hurts us the most in our age group, and the way that it spreads we would be passing it on to friends and family. Lets just make sure that the one that they give us is the best.

[Techno Viking]

Absolutely they should be vaccinated and a shower would not go astray either.

[phetphet]

I'm no anti vaxxer, but I'm not willing to be vaccinated with something that has been rushed through so quickly without proper  testing. All vaccinations carry some risk of an adverse reaction, but some of these reactions can be life changing, if not deadly.

I would much rather wait until something that has been tested more widely and rigorously comes along.

 

Besides that. Only vaccinating foreigners would only protect the foreigners, not the Thais. With their porous borders, and people sneaking across, they would still be open to infrction.

[Tagged]

3 minutes ago, phetphet said:

I'm no anti vaxxer, but I'm not willing to be vaccinated with something that has been rushed through so quickly without proper  testing. All vaccinations carry some risk of an adverse reaction, but some of these reactions can be life changing, if not deadly.

I would much rather wait until something that has been tested more widely and rigorously comes along.

 

Besides that. Only vaccinating foreigners would only protect the foreigners, not the Thais. With their porous borders, and people sneaking across, they would still be open to infrction.

Most important to know, if any who is vaccinated still can transmit the virus to others, so then quarantine is still the only option as long they do not know yet. 

[fakser]

If Vaccination waves all the compulsory measures of quarantine and inflated health insurance , my answer is YES !!!

[chilli42]

Seems to me that they will have a dilemma relating to timing.  Estimates have been all over the place but it’s going to take a long time to vaccinate all those who wish to be vaccinated.  In some large countries, vaccines will not be something you can get on demand.  I also wonder if they will specify a specific vaccine.  Many coming in the market ... for example Russia busy vaccinating their population with their home grown vaccine that does not seem to be widely embraced outside of Russia.  Lots for the brain trust to sort through.  

[RR2020]

I would not worry, Thailand will not be able to open until 2022 most likely.

 

Vaccination will not start until perhaps May or June. Will take at least 6 months and then only offer 60% protection.

 

So Thailand will suffer continuous threat of Covid, as it has no herd immunity as it had no solid 1st or 2nd wave, for all of 2021.

 

So no opening until 2022,

 

Why do you think Thai Airways is not bothering restarting.......there is no point........Thailand will most likely remain closed for all of 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

[sweatalot]

6 hours ago, Saltire said:

the biggest number of foreigners in, and coming to Thailand are from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos

you forgot china

[CM Dad]

Yes all expats should receive the vaccination and at the same price as the Thais.  After all, were have been hailed as heroes.  We should all be offered health insurance regardless of age at reasonable prices, especially those of us with Thai families.  Those with Thai families should also be given the equivalent of a US Green Card and offered a path to citizenship just like Thais are given when married to an American.

[Tagged]

9 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

Yes all expats should receive the vaccination and at the same price as the Thais.  After all, were have been hailed as heroes.  We should all be offered health insurance regardless of age at reasonable prices, especially those of us with Thai families.  Those with Thai families should also be given the equivalent of a US Green Card and offered a path to citizenship just like Thais are given when married to an American.

Sorry for laughing emotion, but yes I aggree! And the same terms, we need to pass a language test and a written as verbal test about thailands history,  social structure and politics. 

Edited December 13, 2020 by Tagged

[placnx]

2 hours ago, chilli42 said:

Seems to me that they will have a dilemma relating to timing.  Estimates have been all over the place but it’s going to take a long time to vaccinate all those who wish to be vaccinated.  In some large countries, vaccines will not be something you can get on demand.  I also wonder if they will specify a specific vaccine.  Many coming in the market ... for example Russia busy vaccinating their population with their home grown vaccine that does not seem to be widely embraced outside of Russia.  Lots for the brain trust to sort through.  

It remains to be seen how many of about 200 vaccines currently in development will go through Phase III trials. While it would be good to have a lot of alternatives since we don't know yet which ones will block not only sickness but also retransmission, plus which ones provide long-lasting immunity, which ones have minimal adverse reactions, the problem will be following up on all these vaccines and keeping people informed whether a vaccination might need a booster.

 

Recently there was a suggestion that the Russian Sputnik vaccine might be improved by somehow combining it with the Oxford vaccine.

 

So what we need is a robust international system for tracking these vaccines. Each vaccinated person should have a WHO QR card that they could scan to tell them whether their vaccination might need an update.

 

As for Thailand's porous borders, I hope that the $1 paper strip Covid antigen tests become a reality. We also need a cheap 1-shot temperature-stable vaccine for border crossers as well.

 

Since Covid immunity even by vaccination may not last very long, by the time the World is immunized it will probably be time to start all over again!!! So for those who think that herd immunity by vaccination will mean that they don't need a jab, think again! In Thailand we can eventually deal with Covid, but the neighboring countries are another matter.

 

[Techno Viking]

16 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

Yes all expats should receive the vaccination and at the same price as the Thais.  After all, were have been hailed as heroes.  We should all be offered health insurance regardless of age at reasonable prices, especially those of us with Thai families.  Those with Thai families should also be given the equivalent of a US Green Card and offered a path to citizenship just like Thais are given when married to an American.

 

Whats stopping you from starting the citizenship process ?

[3STTW]

The vaccine is not a ‘disease’ injection, it is a highly synthesised substance which provokes your immune system into a particular reaction, in this case antibodies which can stop you suffering the effects of COVID-19. Any ‘illness’ suffered after the injection is a symptom of your body’s immune response - NOT the actual virus itself.

 

Neither does the vaccine stop you from picking up the virus and transmitting to others before your immune system has dealt with it.
 

While people are free to decline the vaccine, there is a compelling argument that the same people should be isolated from the community because the are denying the rest of us herd immunity - the state when a virus cannot find enough vectors to sustain itself.
 

The anti-vaxxers should be treated in the same way as drunk drivers; selfish f**kwits who are a danger to themselves and to others. 

[473geo]

32 minutes ago, placnx said:

It remains to be seen how many of about 200 vaccines currently in development will go through Phase III trials. While it would be good to have a lot of alternatives since we don't know yet which ones will block not only sickness but also retransmission, plus which ones provide long-lasting immunity, which ones have minimal adverse reactions, the problem will be following up on all these vaccines and keeping people informed whether a vaccination might need a booster.

 

Recently there was a suggestion that the Russian Sputnik vaccine might be improved by somehow combining it with the Oxford vaccine.

 

So what we need is a robust international system for tracking these vaccines. Each vaccinated person should have a WHO QR card that they could scan to tell them whether their vaccination might need an update.

 

As for Thailand's porous borders, I hope that the $1 paper strip Covid antigen tests become a reality. We also need a cheap 1-shot temperature-stable vaccine for border crossers as well.

 

Since Covid immunity even by vaccination may not last very long, by the time the World is immunized it will probably be time to start all over again!!! So for those who think that herd immunity by vaccination will mean that they don't need a jab, think again! In Thailand we can eventually deal with Covid, but the neighboring countries are another matter.

 

'system for tracking' there are guys on this forum who don't even want 'big brother' to know they visited the local mall  ????????

[RichardColeman]

16 hours ago, Scott said:

should foreigners entering Thailand be required to show proof of vaccination once it is widely available?

Should non-thai have to prove they have been vaccinated before getting visa extensions ? 

[phetphet]

Is it also possible that by the time any large numbers are immunised, the virus might have mutated to the point the vaccine is ineffectual?

Much like they have to make a new seasonal flu vaccine each year.