'Not fair': Backlash against Thai tourism businesses seeking early vaccines

[webfact]

'Not fair': Backlash against Thai tourism businesses seeking early vaccines
By Rina Chandran

FILE PHOTO: REUTERS 

PHUKET, Thailand (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A year after Thailand closed its borders to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Phuket’s famous Walking Street, lined with colourful shophouses, is empty, its white sand beaches deserted.

But a proposal by local businesses to vaccinate a majority of the island’s adult population of about 300,000 before Oct. 1, in time for the main tourist season so that inoculated foreign visitors may holiday without quarantine, could change that.

The Thai government, which kicked off vaccinations on Feb. 28 and sent some doses to tourism-reliant provinces including Phuket, has not agreed to the “Phuket First October” plan.

Human rights groups and others have criticised the idea.

“The Phuket economy relies 80%-90% on foreign tourists, but we accepted that we must keep our people safe, even though we have struggled a lot in the past year,” said Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA).

“But now, more people are getting vaccinated, and the only way to restart the economy is to let these tourists in without a quarantine, after we have ensured the local people are safe,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The private sector has the resources to secure vaccines for 70% of Phuket’s local population and have them inoculated before Oct. 1, faster than the government’s proposed timeline, he said.

“We cannot afford to lose out on another high season,” said Bhummikitti, referring to the period from November to March when the majority of foreign tourists generally visit.

Tourism makes up about 11% of Thailand’s economy. Visitor numbers last year plunged 83% from a year earlier, prompting widespread job losses and business closures, and contributing to the nation’s deepest economic contraction in over two decades.

Tourism Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn has said up to 100,000 doses of vaccine in the first tranche have been reserved for hospitality workers in provinces popular with foreign tourists, including Chiang Mai and Phuket.

Authorities had earlier said vaccine doses would initially be limited to frontline health workers and vulnerable populations in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus.

“It’s not fair,” said Matcha Phorn-in, a human rights activist in Chiang Mai, who presented a petition to parliament last year on the uneven impact of the pandemic on ethnic minorities who do not receive government aid.

“Instead of prioritising the most vulnerable populations first, the rollout is leaving behind marginalised communities like migrant workers and stateless people,” she said.

PUSH TO SIGN PETITION

Worldwide, as vaccines roll out, migrants, ethnic minorities and undocumented workers are among those at risk of being left out, according to aid agencies and humanitarian groups.

In the Asia-Pacific region, nations must prioritise teaching staff after frontline health workers and vulnerable populations, global charity Save the Children has said, because of the increased risks of sexual exploitation and child marriage.

Yet Thailand is not the only country that is pushing for a revival in tourism to bolster its economy. Hospitality industry workers and taxi drivers in Bali, Indonesia, are also getting their jabs earlier than other sections of the population.

Thailand aims to launch a mass vaccination campaign from June. Several hotels and tourism companies want authorities to let in inoculated tourists without quarantine from July 1 - compared to seven days from next month - when large numbers in Britain, the United States and the Middle East will have jabs.

The #OpenThailandSafely petition says the proposed timeline gives Thai authorities enough time to vaccinate frontline hospitality workers.

“The financial, social, physical and psychological health of Thai people has been adversely affected,” says the petition by more than a dozen companies. “The current situation is unsustainable.”

While the online petition has about 11,000 supporters, it has also received a backlash on social media, with one Twitter user named Ian saying: “Please sign the petition so wealthy expats in Thailand don’t lose even more money”.

“Focusing on business means those who benefit are businesses. And it is not small businesses, but large corporations that will benefit the most,” said Matcha.

But Bhummikitti of PTA refutes this.

“It’s not just big businesses, it’s also small businesses. People come to Phuket from everywhere in Thailand to work in the tourism industry, so reopening soon would benefit a lot of people,” he said.

“Some areas in Thailand are less dependent on tourism, and they do not need to proceed as quickly with the vaccines. But in Phuket, we cannot afford to wait.”

EVERYONE IS SUFFERING

On a recent weeknight in Phuket, scores of shops and restaurants were closed, with just a handful of local tourists taking pictures on Walking Street that was decorated with red lanterns from last month’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

At Vegan Table, a tourist favourite, owner Simon Thomas has taken out a second mortgage to keep his restaurant open, and had to lay off a third of his staff, but is still running at a loss.

“I can keep going for maybe another three-four months. A lot of the businesses that are shut won’t open again,” he said.

“I support the plan to vaccinate the local population early - it’s only right that we ensure they are safe. But we must open because tourism is what people in Phuket know,” he said.

After October, if Thailand inoculates 70% of medical personnel and at-risk groups, there could be more easing of restrictions, with a possible waiving of quarantine completely, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirankul said.

For taxi driver Yai, October is a long way off. Meanwhile, even local tourists will be scarce in the hot season and during the monsoon, he said.

“Right now, there are some tourists on the weekend, but during the week I am lucky to get even one or two clients daily,” he said.

“The plan to vaccinate the population in Phuket and open up for foreign tourists is a good plan. We have suffered enough.”

(Reporting by Rina Chandran @rinachandran; Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly.)

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-11

 

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[JoePai]

Oh dear another cock-up, mind you the EU is just as bad the way have screwed up the jabs

[Patong2021]

looks to me like ethical consideration does not  take priority in Thailand. Where is the leadership to explain that the people who are most at risk of hospitalization and death should have first priority? Every country with big progress with vaccine roll out had a common sense priority listing and that means people least likely to suffer  the impact of Covid infection- the people under age 35  and good health are not a priority.

 

11 minutes ago, JoePai said:

Oh dear another cock-up, mind you the EU is just as bad the way have screwed up the jabs

Yes,  first stage  has been a mess, but EU is slowly getting its process organized and has a common sense prioritization. Part of the EU problem was petty politics from countries who could not accept that UK did something right with its Oxford Astra Zeneca  vaccine. Also I think Russia sabotage in EU has been effective.

 

[scorecard]

6 minutes ago, Patong2021 said:

looks to me like ethical consideration does not  take priority in Thailand. Where is the leadership to explain that the people who are most at risk of hospitalization and death should have first priority? Every country with big progress with vaccine roll out had a common sense priority listing and that means people least likely to suffer  the impact of Covid infection- the people under age 35  and good health are not a priority.

 

Yes,  first stage  has been a mess, but EU is slowly getting its process organized and has a common sense prioritization. Part of the EU problem was petty politics from countries who could not accept that UK did something right with its Oxford Astra Zeneca  vaccine. Also I think Russia sabotage in EU has been effective.

 

And here in Thailand politicians are now front of the queue and I wouldn't be surprised if their spouses and kids also at front of the queue with them.  

[new2here]

Ethics will always be a hugely powerful and popular position to have for public optics benefits .... but... when it comes right down to it, few — not zero - but few, will hold that same ethical position when THEIR own economics comes into play and negatively so.

[Surelynot]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

'Not fair': Backlash against Thai tourism businesses seeking early vaccines

Quite right......these vaccines should be reserved for the Chinese......only when their Chinese brothers and sisters are vaccinated should Thais be vaccinated.

[Thomas J]

It’s not fair,” said Matcha Phorn-in, a human rights activist in Chiang Mai, who presented a petition to parliament last year on the uneven impact of the pandemic on ethnic minorities who do not receive government aid.

“Instead of prioritising the most vulnerable populations first, the rollout is leaving behind marginalised communities like migrant workers and stateless people,” she said.

I wonder if Matcha Porn-In ever considered that if the businesses don't re-open soon or worse go bankrupt that the ones MOST IMPACTED will be the marginalized communities, like migrant workers, low income tourist employees and stateless people. 

 

[anthos]

How is this not fair?
The tourism sector workers sacrificed their income so the rest of country can be safe.
They do deserve to be the first in line for vaccination.

[FarFlungFalang]

17 minutes ago, anthos said:

How is this not fair?
The tourism sector workers sacrificed their income so the rest of country can be safe.
They do deserve to be the first in line for vaccination.

The reason for the lockdowns in the first place was to protect the old and vulnerable so they should be first otherwise there was no point in locking down and it would all have been for nothing and now money is the reason for people being protected from the virus so that's how it's not fair!  

[natway09]

Can someone tell this guy that "life is not fair." fullstop

[malibukid]

America is doing 2,000,000 a day and counting

[Mike k]

6 hours ago, scorecard said:

And here in Thailand politicians are now front of the queue and I wouldn't be surprised if their spouses and kids also at front of the queue with them.  

Don't forget their Mia noi's 

[AlQaholic]

If 3 million people a day was vaccinated, the whole population of Thailand would be vaccinated within a month. What's the hold up? Tourism could start in June.

[Mayhem11]

Prioritisation  is not a matter for debate. It is a sovereign matter. Next it will be moaning about why Ferang are not prioritised.

[eastendanto]

8 hours ago, JoePai said:

Oh dear another cock-up, mind you the EU is just as bad the way have screwed up the jabs

not the EU's fault they could never screw up, it's the UK's fault according to our learned friends across the channel.. we're now the farangs of Europe

and responsible for every mess in the EU, it could never happen with their efficient central government busy bodies that work like a well oiled machine ????

Edited March 11, 2021 by eastendanto

[Hayduke]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

“It’s not fair,” said Matcha Phorn-in, a human rights activist in Chiang Mai,

 

Well….it looks like human rights activists won’t be getting vaccinated any time soon.

 

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by Hayduke

[bkkcanuck8]

45 minutes ago, Mayhem11 said:

Prioritisation  is not a matter for debate. It is a sovereign matter. Next it will be moaning about why Ferang are not prioritised.

I could not care a less about prioritizing the government vaccination process - I would like them to get around to approving Mederna, Phizer etc. so that hospitals that private hospitals that wanted to sell those can do so.

[stuandjulie]

1 hour ago, AlQaholic said:

If 3 million people a day was vaccinated, the whole population of Thailand would be vaccinated within a month. What's the hold up? Tourism could start in June.

Well despite the fact no Country  has enough vaccine to do that and the capacity is not there, also the sheer logistics of that would be impossible it is a great plan

 

[billd766]

4 hours ago, Thomas J said:

It’s not fair,” said Matcha Phorn-in, a human rights activist in Chiang Mai, who presented a petition to parliament last year on the uneven impact of the pandemic on ethnic minorities who do not receive government aid.

“Instead of prioritising the most vulnerable populations first, the rollout is leaving behind marginalised communities like migrant workers and stateless people,” she said.

I wonder if Matcha Porn-In ever considered that if the businesses don't re-open soon or worse go bankrupt that the ones MOST IMPACTED will be the marginalized communities, like migrant workers, low income tourist employees and stateless people. 

 

You might find that they are already marginalised.

[NRGF]

4 hours ago, eastendanto said:

not the EU's fault they could never screw up, it's the UK's fault according to our learned friends across the channel.. we're now the farangs of Europe

and responsible for every mess in the EU, it could never happen with their efficient central government busy bodies that work like a well oiled machine ????

Here in the Netherlands the first 1m inoculations took 46 days, current total is 1,7m and counting, we have about 13.5m to vaccinate, !8 years and older so its going to take some time.

[SiSePuede419]

Just got my first jab yesterday.  No side effects, except my face was a little flush.

PSST! You're not supposed to drink for 2 days before the jab and "up to" 2 weeks later.

Guess that means a LOT of TVF Pattaya Barstool Jockeys won't be getting it, because it's obviously impossible to quit drinking that long. ????

 

 

[mlmcleod]

On 3/11/2021 at 8:46 AM, webfact said:

“Please sign the petition so wealthy expats in Thailand don’t lose even more money”.

This sentence appeared out of the blue in this article.  To my knowledge it is not the expats who would benefit from early vaccination but everyone!  This jab at expats seems to be undeserved and is certainly racist in nature!  We expats suffer with everyone else during the pandemic!

[scorecard]

17 hours ago, AlQaholic said:

If 3 million people a day was vaccinated, the whole population of Thailand would be vaccinated within a month. What's the hold up? Tourism could start in June.

If the USA can do 3,000,000 per day with all their fractured states, 'freedom loving' folks etc., etc., then any country can.

So why not organize multiple medical folks at multiple locations, all facilities and serum all available all areas of the country participating, first come first served, nobody allowed to jump the queue, large numbers vaccinated every day.

That would be fair. 

But sadly in some countries human ethics not in the picture, status (money & power) rules.

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2021 by scorecard

[GeilGeilertzen]

Fairly divide the vaccines all over Thailand and begin with elderly and health workers first. 
forget about Phuket, Pattaya and other tourist scenes. The truth is that it has never been as good as it itls now all over Thailand. 

When you go to Phuket beaches are clean and pristine. You have to roll time back 50 years to experience this.  It’s great and loads of thais and foreigners living in Thailand DOES NOT want this mental mass tourism back ever. 

Edited March 12, 2021 by GeilGeilertzen

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.  This topic is not about Trump or Biden.