PM: Thailand not broke from COVID-19 measures

[polpott]

3 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

Most of that will be locally produced by Siam Biosciences, which will only start production in May or June and it is as yet unclear how much they will be able to produce per month

None of that will be supplied by Siam Biosciences. All planned to be imported from AZ facility in India. Don't mention Siam Biosciences, its a "face" thing.....or is it a graft thing?

[hugocnx]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

PM: Thailand not broke from COVID-19 measures

Paphamon Arayasukawat

 

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - The start of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Thailand has sparked optimism of an economic recovery. The Prime Minister said today that the government has continued to put measures in place to help affected people, while reassuring the general public the country’s financial stability remains good.

 

Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha reassured the general public in a specific PM Podcast on Thailand’s financial stability, citing the latest evaluation from the Big Thee credit rating agencies S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch.

 

According to the Prime Minister the three companies still retain Thailand’s confidence rating due to high international reserves, and good fiscal discipline and stability.

 

By the end of 2020, Thailand’s treasury balance was recorded at 473 billion baht, which is 49.5% higher than the previous fiscal year. The national economy is expected to grow better following the start ofthe COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and economic measures introduced by the government.

 

On the vaccination campaign, the Prime Minister said the first 200,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech have already been distributed to 13 first priority provinces.

 

Around 3,000 medical workers are among the first to receive this vaccine, with people who have already had their first jab reporting mild reactions.

 

The Prime Minister said the country has already pre-purchased 26 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, with plans to purchase 35 million more COVID-19 vaccines, in order to vaccinate half the country’s population by the end of this year.

 

On the request from private firms to import COVID-19 vaccines, the Prime Minister said the government and the Ministry of Public Health will allow these imports, given that the vaccines have been approved for emergency usage by the Food and Drugs Administration.

 

So far, four importers have filed for approval of their vaccine with the FDA, namely AstraZeneca, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Janssen-Cilag, and Biogenetech.

 

The Prime Minister said more doses of Sinovac’s vaccine are arriving soon in the second and third deliveries, and will be distributed among more groups of people, especially in tourist areas, while stressing there is no preferential treatment for VIPs in the vaccination campaign.

 

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-03-08

 

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That is 1.2 % of the population. See you next year.

[PETERTHEEATER]

8 hours ago, bluesofa said:

'The Prime Minister' and 'reassuring the general public' must surely be an oxymoron.

Skip the 'oxy' and you're  spot on....

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

So far, four importers have filed for approval of their vaccine with the FDA, namely AstraZeneca, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization, Janssen-Cilag, and Biogenetech.

 

Why can't he name the vaccines in a simple way that most Thais will understand, rather than speaking in code? 

Believe it or not, vaccines do not file for approval.

[Dogmatix]

57 minutes ago, polpott said:

None of that will be supplied by Siam Biosciences. All planned to be imported from AZ facility in India. Don't mention Siam Biosciences, its a "face" thing.....or is it a graft thing?

 

You mean that Siam Biosciences is unable to produce the vaccine at all, which would not surprise greatly, or that it will produce but all will be for export?

[Bkk Brian]

1 hour ago, polpott said:

None of that will be supplied by Siam Biosciences. All planned to be imported from AZ facility in India. Don't mention Siam Biosciences, its a "face" thing.....or is it a graft thing?

10 million doses a month, is slated to begin in June, using 26 million shots of AstraZeneca vaccines produced by local firm Siam Bioscience.

 

Plenty of links for that above ^^^

[spidermike007]

If only. The indifference he has shown towards the people who are the most in need of help has been stunning, even for this incompetent, totally uncaring, ivory tower administration. They have done nearly nothing. I cannot believe the number of people I run into who have been subject to a loss of a business, or a job.

 

No help at all, from the hapless army guys. Nothing. Nada. Nunca. The zero men have really demonstrated where their heads are at, on this one. 

[Bkk Brian]

3 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

 

 

Pfizer and Moderna are not interested in the Thai market. They have huge orders developed countries that they are still struggling to supply.  The minus 70 degree storage is a problem for third world tropical counties and all the hassle and corruption of getting approved by the Thai FDA is not worth the candle.  Pfizer did try in India and was the first vaccine producer to apply for registration.  Months later the Indians rejected their application giving spurious reasons but probably because Pfizer refused to pay bribes which may be a reason they are not interested in the Thai market.  

There are corruption risks throughout the entire vaccine deployment process. This document is by the UN and I've just copied a few snippets but it has a comprehensive list of all the corruption possibilities waiting to be taken advantage of by officials. https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/COVID-19/Policy_paper_on_COVID-19_vaccines_and_corruption_risks.pdf

 

1. Unscrupulous government officials may seek to enrich themselves, or those connected to them, through the procurement process by demanding kickbacks from suppliers.

 

2. Some countries have created special commissions to negotiate the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines with the laboratories and universities conducting research and development on potential vaccine candidates. There can be a lack of transparency, and thus a potential risk of corruption in what these agreements entail.

 

3. Public health facility staff may also steal vaccines for resale in the black market or in their own private practices. This risk is particularly pronounced when supplies are limited, and demand is high

 

4. During the pre-bidding phase, corruption risks include inaccurately estimating the demand for a particular product or service, circumventing tender procedures, and deliberately tailoring tender documents to favour a particular bidder. During the bidding phase, there is the risk of government officials receiving bribes or kickbacks from suppliers,

 

5. Decision making related to the allocation of vaccines to priority groups is also vulnerable to corruption risks, such as conflicts of interest and nepotism.

 

6. Transparency – information about public decision-making – is critical here. Transparency allows for the detection of corruption and lowers the likelihood of corrupt behaviour. Transparency lowers information barriers and permits scrutiny and monitoring

[Janner1]

4 hours ago, malibukid said:

lot of down and out Thai's asking me for money, more than usual.  what is the government doing about it.  not much

They never did so why start now?      Humanity !!      solly me no uners tand English.

[curlylekan]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

stressing there is no preferential treatment for VIPs in the vaccination campaign.

 

If you believe this, I also have some rare sand from Phuket to sell you

[ThailandRyan]

10 minutes ago, curlylekan said:

 

If you believe this, I also have some rare sand from Phuket to sell you

is it filled with Melo Pearls?

[dinsdale]

Thailand not broke. PM and cronies not broke. People broke. Ah never mind the people. We can save a lot by letting them starve, make out our control of covid is one of the best in the world by not testing (too expensive) and we'll have plenty left over to stuff our own pockets and buy a few subs.

[kcpattaya]

This administration totally misses the point...
Thailand is heading for an economic as well as a humanitarian crises as never before.
There is ZERO support given to its citizens that are effected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Don't HIDE behind how "good" the COVID-19 is being handled - focus on your people in despair.   
KARMA will follow - wait.