Thai PM gets first shot of AstraZeneca vaccine after safety scare

[webfact]

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha receives an injection of the AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, March 16, 2021. Thailand Government House/Handout via REUTERS

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha became the first person to be inoculated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in the Southeast Asian country on Tuesday after the rollout had been temporarily put on hold over safety concerns.

Prayuth and other cabinet members had been initially due to get their vaccine shots on Friday, before Thailand suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports it could cause blood clots prompted a number of European countries to hit pause.

"Today I'm boosting confidence for the general public," Prayuth told reporters at Government House, before he received a shot in his left arm.

Prayuth, who will turn 67 this month, later said he felt fine after the injection.

Thailand's health minister said on Monday the rollout would resume after many countries had said there were no blood clot issues with the vaccine.

Thailand has started vaccinating frontline health workers and other groups including government officials using imported shots but the country's overall vaccination strategy is heavily reliant on making the AstraZeneca vaccine domestically.

The AstraZeneca vaccine is due to be produced by a company owned by the country's king, with 61 million doses reserved for the country's population.

The Thai-produced AstraZeneca vaccine is not expected to be available until at least June, when Thailand plans to begin its mass inoculation campaign.

Prayuth and his cabinet were injected with some of the 117,300 doses of imported AstraZeneca vaccine Thailand received for emergency use earlier this month.

Thailand previously imported 200,000 doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac. A further 800,000 CoronaVac doses would arrive later this month, followed by a million more in April.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Ed Davies)

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-16

 

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[Shuya]

Sodium Chloride?

[ThailandRyan]

I wonder if Sodium pentothal was needed, to at least make him relax before the injection so he didn't scream like a baby.  

[kotsak]

Video/photos or it never happened ????

[lopburi3]

And today three major countries in Europe have decided to stop using this vaccine.  Expect there may be a few second thoughts going around at this time.

 

 

 

[Big Yuley]

9 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

And today three major countries in Europe have decided to stop using this vaccine.  Expect there may be a few second thoughts going around at this time.

 

 

 

I hardly doubt it.

Just another massive over exaggeration from countries over absolutely nothing.

[Moonlover]

34 minutes ago, Big Yuley said:

I hardly doubt it.

Just another massive over exaggeration from countries over absolutely nothing.

Totally agree. Here's an interesting article from the BBC's health correspondent. A long read, but worth taking the time to do so.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56360646

 

[internationalism]

so him and his cabinet had very much special treatment.

The Nation: "Yong Poovorawan, chief of Chulalongkorn University’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, will personally administer the shot to Prayuth. Adrenaline shots have been prepared and an ambulance will be on standby for transfer to Rajavithi Hospital in case any of the ministers have severe side-effects."

Now, after germany, italy and france suspended AZ they might be shi.ting their pants and heads might rolling at the health ministry.

Still, show had to go on, because AZ is, practically, the only vax available for thailand. Stopping it now would be a complete disaster for the government, with a need for yet another military coup to replace those clowns and to stop public protests.

Already over 600mln was spend from the vax budget on building factory for Siam Bioscience, because this company never made a single dose of vax over 10 years of it's existance. This money was given in september, well before signing contract with AZ in late october, because only this company was promoted by the government . Still, a lot of money coming to private hands to be made with 200mln doses per year being sold locally and in the region.

But I do really suspect, that the government had already some other vax, aquired through diplomatic channels from any embassy in bangkok or from any thai embassy in the world. With 350mln jabs already given around the world and with tens of millions in storage at village clinics, there are many missing/stolen ones and available on the black market. Practically any vax is available to any government.

Now, after many european countries suspending AZ, would try public trust a vax made in thailand by a company without any experience and with lese majeste thrown at those trying to expose the governments back door deals?

 

 

[ICELANDMAN]

Cheers for the staging

[yeahbutif]

i thought there was soposed to be a video of this event happening live > and how do we know if what he got was the AstraZeneca vaccine ,  could have been anything ,   

[potless]

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

I wonder if Sodium pentothal was needed,

Anything even remotely connected to a "truth serum" in the system could lead to catastrophic side effects.????

[realfunster]

15 minutes ago, internationalism said:

Adrenaline shots have been prepared and an ambulance will be on standby for transfer to Rajavithi Hospital in case any of the ministers have severe side-effects."

So sorry for that poor sod who had delayed urgent medical attention because the ambulance from a public hospital was tied up elsewhere with the dinosaurs' PR stunt....

Ridiculous use of public resources.

[ThailandRyan]

7 minutes ago, potless said:

Anything even remotely connected to a "truth serum" in the system could lead to catastrophic side effects.

Sodium pentathol is a barbiturate drug medically used as a short-acting general anaesthetic. As a side effect at low doses, it lowers the inhibitions of those into whom it is injected. Of course it was used in the past as for what you say, but it is used to lower inhibitions and relax patients.

[potless]

6 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Sodium pentathol is a barbiturate drug medically used as a short-acting general anaesthetic. As a side effect at low doses, it lowers the inhibitions of those into whom it is injected. Of course it was used in the past as for what you say, but it is used to lower inhibitions and relax patients.

I was joking.

[colinneil]

Prayut probably just received a placebo, just so it looks like he had the jab, trying to make him look good, which is  impossible.

[Odysseus123]

Better late than never.

Well done that man!

Now..let's get on with it....

[ThailandRyan]

5 minutes ago, potless said:

I was joking.

I know you were, I was just getting the point of the joke into the right light, as he needed to be coerced or relaxed, that was my sarcastic remark in my post...lol

[overherebc]

15 minutes ago, potless said:

I was joking.

Not allowed to joke according to some posters on here mate.

You can only be serious and try to educate others to follow your way of thinking

PS

Am I joking?

[KhunBENQ]

55 minutes ago, yeahbutif said:

i thought there was soposed to be a video of this event happening live > and how do we know if what he got was the AstraZeneca vaccine ,  could have been anything ,

Plenty of videos from the event. In Thai language of course and what more than the news/zillions of pictures would they proof. Vaccine or sodium chloride solution?

One of the videos in Thai:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0h5qTGbLKY

 

[thequietman]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Prayuth told reporters at Government House, before he received a shot in his left arm

That's as close as He ever has, and ever will, get towards being in a battle situation. ????

[ikwiljou]

" Thailand's health minister said on Monday the rollout would resume after many countries had said there were no blood clot issues with the vaccine. "

Don't they read the latest news from Europe and Indonesia?

[KhunBENQ]

5 minutes ago, ikwiljou said:

Don't they read the latest news from Europe and Indonesia?

They obviously did, like from the UK where millions have been vaccinated and no proof that the blood cloths are related to the vaccine.

[blacksuitdandruff]

If I were him, on camera I would just inject Saline and smile. But off-camera I would say to everyone I'm not injecting that <deleted> into my body.

[kotsak]

Won the jackpot.. ????

 

[ThailandGuy]

Most replies from conspiracy followers  in Europe when leaders took their vaccin shot was

"who can tell me what is really in that syringe? It could be just plain water."

[Pottinger]

Everybody has known for years where the biggest clots in Thailand are...

[Phuketshrew]

It was only a little p.r.i.c.k. 

[Dialemco]

Good news now expedite vaccination programme which is really important.

[AlfHuy]

Didn't we see this morning a different picture of the PM?

He was wearing a t-shirt and a female was giving the vaccine.

[bkk6060]

Truly manned up.  My idol.