PM insists 61 million doses of COVID vaccines this year should be enough for Thailand

[webfact]

(Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)

 

Thailand will have procured up to 61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year, which should be sufficient to cope with the pandemic, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today (Tuesday), as he revealed the timeline for vaccine procurements.

 

317,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China were received in February, 800,000 doses in March and a million doses in April, with another batch of a million doses scheduled for delivery in May.

 

Negotiations also are under way for more Sinovac vaccine, which are yet to be approved by Chinese government, said the prime minister. Between 4 and 6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, to be produced locally by Siam Bioscience, are to be delivered in June, he said, and the amount will increase throughout the rest of the year, until 61 million doses will have procured.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pm-insists-61-million-doses-of-covid-vaccines-this-year-should-be-enough-for-thailand/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-04-21

 

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[Thaiwrath]

“This is not too late or too little,” said the prime minister.

 

Many people disagree with you.

The Covid situation in Thailand is not looking good at this present moment in time, and the vaccination schedule is way behind  many other countries.

Edited April 20, 2021 by Thaiwrath

[tingtong]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

317,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China were received in February, 800,000 doses in March and a million doses in April,

 

Yet about a 1000 a day getting the jab?

If numbers don't lie, then the PM must be...

[Flying Saucage]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

... up to 61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year, which should be sufficient to cope with the pandemic, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today

 

Sure. This is enough for 30 million people only. But it is sufficient for him to cope, because he got his shot already, and other people don't play a role in his mind. Those who don't get a shot and become sick are just collateral damage of his brain-dead policies.

[RichardColeman]

41 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thailand will have procured up to 61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year

Important word in that statement is procured ! Not delivered, and not in the arms of people.

 

Honestly cannot see Thailand opening this year with these people currently in charge of vaccine purchase and roll out

[edwinchester]

Doses for less than half the population is not enough to cope with the pandemic, anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded.

 

[brommers]

How long can he keep up this pretence. We hear waffle about achieving herd immunity but because of the variants this unproven conept now is deemed to require 80% coverage of the population and yet he is shooting for 50%. What he thinks is enough is irrelevant, the Thai tourism industry will only start to recover when foriegn governments allow their citizens to travel here and when those self same citizens feel it is safe to come here. And with such a low level of vaccination Thailand will not get onto travel listings that indicate this country is a safe destination.

[Excel]

6 minutes ago, brommers said:

How long can he keep up this pretence. We hear waffle about achieving herd immunity but because of the variants this unproven conept now is deemed to require 80% coverage of the population and yet he is shooting for 50%. What he thinks is enough is irrelevant, the Thai tourism industry will only start to recover when foriegn governments allow their citizens to travel here and when those self same citizens feel it is safe to come here. And with such a low level of vaccination Thailand will not get onto travel listings that indicate this country is a safe destination.

How long ? As long as he is told to do.

[Jeffr2]

June, July....sure wish they could get this date right.

[starky]

Population of Thailand is what again? And what is the recommended coverage to get near herd immunity? 70%, 80% more?  Hmmmmm.

Edited April 20, 2021 by starky

[PatOngo]

44 minutes ago, brommers said:

How long can he keep up this pretence?

How long is a piece of string???

[PatOngo]

At 2 doses per person, this is not even sufficient for half the population!

[Jeffr2]

12 minutes ago, starky said:

Population of Thailand is what again? And what is the recommended coverage to get near herd immunity? 70%, 80% more?  Hmmmmm.

I think around 70MM.  80% would be 56MM.  So shouldn't be enough.  Though even getting to 80% could be difficult.  We'll see....

Edited April 21, 2021 by Jeffr2

[crazykopite]

The Chinese vaccine is only 50.4% effective compered to vaccines such as AZ. The Thai government once again waiting good money on useless Chinese products all because  of friendship or is there more to it 1st we had the purchase of rusty old submarines 2nd the ordering of high speed trains and god knows what else and now the useless vaccines and buy the way they have only procured the vaccines that doesn’t mean they have been delivered . My Thai GF who is holed up in a red zone has now applied 3 times to get a vaccine but cannot because the province has run out , the Thai authorities have had over a year to get this sorted and have failed miserably maybe it’s because they thought that We were all immune to Covid so no need to waste money . ☹️

[Jeffr2]

1 minute ago, crazykopite said:

The Chinese vaccine is only 50.4% effective compered to vaccines such as AZ. The Thai government once again waiting good money on useless Chinese products all because  of friendship or is there more to it 1st we had the purchase of rusty old submarines 2nd the ordering of high speed trains and god knows what else and now the useless vaccines and buy the way they have only procured the vaccines that doesn’t mean they have been delivered . My Thai GF who is holed up in a red zone has now applied 3 times to get a vaccine but cannot because the province has run out , the Thai authorities have had over a year to get this sorted and have failed miserably maybe it’s because they thought that We were all immune to Covid so no need to waste money . ☹️

But it's almost 100% effective at keeping you out of the ICU.

[crazykopite]

3 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

But it's almost 100% effective at keeping you out of the ICU.

Glad you feel so confident with your statement . My local government hospital has 40 beds we have already got 7 Covid patients in the past week until SONGKRAN we had been virus free from the start . It is my understanding that these 7 patients all came from Bangkok wait until next week when the hospitals throughout the Kingdom will be unable to cope especially with the lack of ventilators 

[Jeffr2]

8 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Glad you feel so confident with your statement . My local government hospital has 40 beds we have already got 7 Covid patients in the past week until SONGKRAN we had been virus free from the start . It is my understanding that these 7 patients all came from Bangkok wait until next week when the hospitals throughout the Kingdom will be unable to cope especially with the lack of ventilators 

Not sure I'd say confident.  Just repeating what the scientists have said.  For me?  I'd prefer the Pfizer or Moderna jab.  If not them, then the AZ jab.

 

In the end, we'll need boosters every year or so for a long time to come as this virus mutates.  Like the Spanish Flu, CV19 will be with us for the rest of our lives.

[Fromas]

The government should let doctors and epidemiologists take center stage.

[heybruce]

52 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

I think around 70MM.  80% would be 56MM.  So shouldn't be enough.  Though even getting to 80% could be difficult.  We'll see....

Almost all the vaccines require two doses, so at best 61 million doses will vaccinate 30.5 million people.  That's if absolutely none of the vaccines are wasted through poor storage, problems scheduling vaccinations, or other mismanagement.

 

Big Brother China will not allow its people to visit Thailand until the pandemic is well under control.  Other countries will discourage visits by insisting on quarantining upon return, which will effectively discourage most tourists.   61 million doses won't get the job done. 

 

In summary, Thailand's tourist industry and the millions of people who depend on it are screwed unless Prayuth (or his replacement) can do much better.

Edited April 21, 2021 by heybruce

[Locked in Oz]

Folks a couple of points.

1. 61 million is not enough for the whole country (there is a need for more than one jab) and;

2. Sinovac is less than effective.  Having said that something is better than nothing.

It would appear tho that the powers that be are not in control of any part of this process.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Locked in Oz

[mtls2005]

PM is in full "Bloviator" mode.

 

 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand will have procured up to 61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year, which should be sufficient to cope with the pandemic, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today (Tuesday), as he revealed the timeline for vaccine procurements.

61 million doses for 30 million people, not even 50% of the population...

he calls himself a prime minister.

[hotchilli]

47 minutes ago, heybruce said:

In summary, Thailand's tourist industry and the millions of people who depend on it are screwed unless Prayuth (or his replacement) can do much better.

They can't do better and they won't step down.. feel sorry for the Thais

[realfunster]

1 hour ago, Jeffr2 said:

June, July....sure wish they could get this date right.

 

NNT (the government official news service) yesterday said May.

I smell a misinformation strategy to keep the natives calm.

All part of the same plan that put vaccine production with SB, where nothing can be questioned and there is no transparency due to ‘higher powers’.

[eeworldwide]

Oh dear.... I don't see Thailand coming out of this any time soon, especially as the current wave is only now starting to dig its heels and gain some real traction. Let's say 2023 to be more realistic.

[Sametboy2019]

2 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Doses for less than half the population is not enough to cope with the pandemic, anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded.

 

It maybe. Alot of people here are asymptomatic. If the right 50% are vaccinated first. 

Somchai in Nakorn nowhere doesn't need to be vaccinated first.

[Sydebolle]

Good luck with that; the government's speed on this issue is ensuring, that the Thai economy and the wellbeing of the Thai people definitely will go down the pan. 

Earliest opening of the country will be in a year's time - too late for the large majority of the people of the land of the free ........ is an encore of the French revolution around the corner anytime soon? Asking for a friend ........ 

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Important word in that statement is procured ! Not delivered, and not in the arms of people.

 

Honestly cannot see Thailand opening this year with these people currently in charge of vaccine purchase and roll out

 

I agree. I think Thailand opening up in 2021 belongs only in the fantasy land of TAT.

[Cake Monster]

5 hours ago, Flying Saucage said:

 

Sure. This is enough for 30 million people only. But it is sufficient for him to cope, because he got his shot already, and other people don't play a role in his mind. Those who don't get a shot and become sick are just collateral damage of his brain-dead policies.

And 30.5 Million Vaccinated Citizens will not achieve Herd Immunity.

This amount of Vaccination is only roughly 40 % or so of the population ( not including Migrant workers and other contract workers Etc )

I guess he missed out on Math Lessons at School.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand will have procured up to 61 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of this year, which should be sufficient to cope with the pandemic, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today (Tuesday), as he revealed the timeline for vaccine procurements.

Everything in Thailand seems to start with the pre-fix "short"

Short term, short-time, short sightedness, short supply etc etc