Expats in Thailand to receive COVID-19 vaccinations free of charge

[RobMuir]

1 minute ago, digibum said:

How pathetic are the lives of some people that they’ve chosen to live in a country they think so poorly about?  LOL.  

 

 

 

Very pathetic in my opinion.

Most of the sad sacks probably moved here because they fell for a bar girl.

 

Then it dawned on them when it was too late that they were merely just a good customer and nothing special like he believed and a laughing stock.

 

They buy them houses, cars, etc, raise children whose father's cleared out long ago. Then get all bitter and complain endlessly.

 

Totally pathetic. But I find them good for a laugh.

 

It would be better for everyone if they left though, better for the Thais who wouldn't have to listen to them moaning, people like yourself who are happy here and find them cringeworthy and most importantly for their own happiness.

[richard_smith237]

26 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Ain't nothing free here. Especially for us. They can offer the Sinovac and I will 1000% refuse. That stuff you can't even give away to a semi educated person. Simple as that.

 

'Ain’t nothing'... Double negative, everything is for free then?

1000% - One thousand percent?

 

 

I get your point, they couldn’t give the Sinovac vaccine to you !!! ????

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cyril sneer]

if they are giving these out for free I dread to think how much the vaccine passports will be now..

[richard_smith237]

11 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

if they are giving these out for free I dread to think how much the vaccine passports will be now..

 

One more for you digibum !!!....   ????

 

 

Personally, I’m waiting for someone to bring up ‘Road Fatalities’....   ‘Submarines’... ‘the meaning of the word Farang’ and ‘Tump’.....  oh... and on the other side of the fence, the old favourite ‘if you don’t like it go home’ !!!!! 

[Neeranam]

11 minutes ago, AlfHuy said:

And under which category you fall?

Multi-billionaire ex. Apple CEO and now Bitcoin trillionaire?

I'm an ex-foreign worker immigrant. 

[trainman34014]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

Anyone taking bets on how long before the czar contradicts / reverses this?

 

Sorry, but until I get a needle in my arm (twice) I'm not believing anything that comes out of this government.

 

Yes; we could be told any minute that   'It was all a terrible Misunderstanding'   or 'It was Fake News ' !

[rabas]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I'm an ex-foreign worker immigrant. 

 

Ah, an old timer, many old timers have integrated well and tend to appreciate Thailand and the people, but not 90 day....

[rabas]

1 hour ago, jojothai said:

You are going to have millions of vaccinated Thais going around, potentially spreading the disease without concern for others.  AFAIK vaccination does not stop you getting and spreading covid 19.

It will stop a large percentage of people from getting and/or spreading the disease, especially the top vaccines.  No vaccine will stop 100%. 

 

"Vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine reduces infections by 90%"

https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n888

 

Misinformation campaigns try to blur 'not stopping all' to mean 'not stopping any'.  Don't fall for it.

[Neeranam]

35 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

Ah, an old timer, many old timers have integrated well and tend to appreciate Thailand and the people, but not 90 day....

Not that old, 12 years till retirement ???? 

[tandor]

4 hours ago, Audun Lorentzen said:

Great news! ????????????

...calm down.

[jojothai]

16 minutes ago, rabas said:

It will stop a large percentage of people from getting and/or spreading the disease, especially the top vaccines.  No vaccine will stop 100%. 

 

"Vaccination with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine reduces infections by 90%"

https://www.bmj.com/content/373/bmj.n888

 

Misinformation campaigns try to blur 'not stopping all' to mean 'not stopping any'.  Don't fall for it.

You need to anlayze the figures to see what they mean.
If its 90%  for those vaccinated, there is still the other 10% . Does it really help others who are not vaccinated?

477 (12%) received only one dose, out of those 9 got infected. That 2%.

So with 10 or 20 million Thais vaccinated that's 200, 000 to 400,000 that could still get covid if its still out there.

Its far more than Thailand has had in the whole of this.

So, if covid is still out there and many people start thinking they are protected by the vaccine,

isn't that potentially a big mistake.

It also means that the ones who cannot get vaccinated are more at risk if things open up and those vaccinated no longer think its a problem. I have no intention of being put in that position by this incompetent bunch of Clowns.

 

[Pib]

2 hours ago, jojothai said:

NO.

See post 1215456-registrations-for-vaccinations-start-may-1st and extract below.
This post clarifies what the intention is “CITIZENS (and those with Chronic Diseases)”
How would they know the expats with chronic diseases when this will be limited to health system hospitals. Its not private hospitals. Probably only going to be those registered on Social security.

 

Quote
"BANGKOK (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health will begin registering Thais for COVID-19 vaccination, starting with those over 60 years of age and with chronic illnesses. Registration will be via the Mor Prom LINE account this May 1st, with an estimated 16 million people eligible.
Hospitals throughout the nation have uploaded lists of senior citizens and patients with chronic illnesses into the Mor Prom system in preparation for registrations starting on May 1st. Older citizens will be asked to do so using the LINE application and will have to input their 13-digit identification number and ….
Astra-Zeneca vaccines will begin being administered in June to 11.7 million senior citizens above the age of 60, and to 4.3 million people with any one of seven listed chronic illnesses."
 

 

I tried to register today using my Thai Pink ID card/Yellow book.....a no go.   And when the Thai wife tried to register it would accept her Thai ID card number, but preloaded info for her province was incorrect so she aborted her registration....see details in below post.

 

[Maestro]

Removed off-topic posts and the replies to them.

 

Please stop arguing about English dictionary definitions or your own definitions of words used in an English translation of something that has been written or said in Thai language, as these arguments are irrelevant. If you want a scholarly discussion of the meaning of a Thai word, take it to the forum Thai Language and discuss it there.

[cyril sneer]

slightly off-topic but will a visa run be required to get a covid passport if the state of emergency is lifted?

[aussienam]

Hopefully the Astra Zeneca vaccine? Will we have a choice? 

I am concerned the Sinovac vaccine may not be accepted in some countries so may become a barrier for travelling.  Hoping clarification on this. 

Also, because of potential fraud, what type of vaccination certificates/passport will be issued?  And will it be accepted by other nations?  

[herfiehandbag]

4 hours ago, ericdiam said:

Will be the AZ produced by Siam bioscience which I not much trust. And AZ has only 63% protection and is less effective even with the new variants, UK included. Also they only will start in June so prity sure foreigners will be maybe August-Seprember

For me if Pfizer, Moderna which are both over 90% or even J&J over 70% and that one already proven that UK variant works then I'll just go and pay for any of these

Personally, my concern is not so much the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing infection, it is how good it is at reducing the effects of the infection; even the much derided Chinese vaccine seems to be effective at that. I'll take whatever is on offer. I very much doubt that the average Thai will get a choice anyway.

Edited April 29, 2021 by herfiehandbag

[steve73]

Great that they're offering this to expats, whether it's locally produced Ox/Az, or the Sinovac - whatever is available for normal Thais.  If anyone wants the "preferred" Pfizer or Moderna, then they should have to pay the additional costs, incl. those for the more difficult transportation & storage requirements.

 

My worry is that eventually we will require mandatory vaxing as a requirement for the annual extension, and that could be an issue for some who have known allergies.

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by steve73

[herfiehandbag]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Not that old, 12 years till retirement ???? 

A mere boy - four years and counting!

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, herfiehandbag said:

I very much doubt that the average Thai will get a choice anyway.

And due to the severe hierarchical social structure, most can never question a doctor.

[realfunster]

Can’t believe some of you are falling for this...

 

The government have not suddenly started caring about the immigrant community, rather they have absolutely no choice, as earlier today they have effectively stopped the private sector from sourcing any vaccines, in case you missed that extremely significant news. If my interpretation is correct, there will be no private sector options available - at all !

 

If not seen, I suggest you read this thread. Which aside from raising some opinions on why this has happened, illustrates with perfect timing how quickly the government can change their minds !

 

If expats are now in the Thai governmental vaccination program, it will beg the obvious question of ‘when’ ? With only one apparent vaccination option, I am already hearing rumors of backs being scratched to get priority vaccination. Quelle surprise....

 

For those unable or unwilling to scratch backs, let’s be realistic that based on published vaccination distribution targets, it’s more than likely we are looking at at least six months, after the aged, high-risk, front-line personnel and no doubt the pen pushers at government departments. 

 

All in all guys & gals, I would consider this as very ‘mixed’ news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Morbius]

It should be taken into account that the most widely distributed vaccine in Thailand is the one from China (Sinovac/Sinopharm). There's been experiments with the British/Swedish vaccine from AstraZeneca in Thailand, but they were apparently been halted.

 

The problem is that, to the best of my knowledge, these vaccines from China have not been approved in Europe, in North America and in Australia. In Asia, some countries such as Japan and Singapore (there might be others) have not approved the China vaccines either.

 

Which means that expats living in Thailand (any Thai resident, in fact) and traveling to those countries will face restrictions measures such as quarantine upon arrival, even if they have been administered the China vaccine.

 

They might even face difficulties when boarding their plane, since several airlines have announced that, in the near future, they will admit on board only passengers who can prove that they have been vaccinated with a legit vaccine.

Edited April 29, 2021 by Morbius

[Sheryl]

8 minutes ago, Morbius said:

It should be taken into account that the most widely distributed vaccine in Thailand is the one from China (Sinovac/Sinopharm). There's been experiments with the British/Swedish vaccine from AstraZeneca in Thailand, but they were apparently been halted.

 

The problem is that, to the best of my knowledge, these vaccines from China have not been approved in Europe, in North America and in Australia. In Asia, some countries such as Japan and Singapore (there might be others) have not approved the China vaccines either.

 

Which means that expats (any Thai resident in fact) living in Thailand and traveling to those countries will face restrictions measures such as quarantine upon arrival, even if they have been administered the China vaccine.

 

They might even face difficulties when boarding their plane, since several airlines have announced that, in the near future, they will admit on board only passengers who can prove that they have been vaccinated with a legit vaccine.

 

AZ use in Thailand was not an "experiment" nor has it been halted, on the contrary local manufacture of the AZ vaccine is well underway.

 

AZ is planned to be the mainstay of the Thai immunization program. Delays have been due to the plan to locally manufactuire it, which takes time.

 

Sinovac was used just as a stop gap for the highest priority groups such as medical workers etc.

[riclag]

9 hours ago, ericdiam said:

Will be the AZ produced by Siam bioscience which I not much trust. And AZ has only 63% protection and is less effective even with the new variants, UK included. Also they only will start in June so prity sure foreigners will be maybe August-Seprember

For me if Pfizer, Moderna which are both over 90% or even J&J over 70% and that one already proven that UK variant works then I'll just go and pay for any of these

Hopefully  P and M will be free for all expats living here !

[RichardColeman]

10 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

All foreigners in Thailand will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it was announced at the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) briefing on Thursday.

Yes , yes, line up and get your Sinovac jab for free.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 hours ago, sandyf said:

Why not just wait for the outcome? I know of 2 different registration methods already in use and another being advertised for next month. No doubt there will be more to follow. There would be something wrong if they addressed foreigners before dealing with Thai nationals.

 

There's supposed to be a government mobile phone app coming specifically to support the future government vaccine program for foreigners... But no, it's not here yet.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

Hopefully  P and M will be free for all expats living here !

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, realfunster said:

Can’t believe some of you are falling for this...

 

The government have not suddenly started caring about the immigrant community, rather they have absolutely no choice, as earlier today they have effectively stopped the private sector from sourcing any vaccines, in case you missed that extremely significant news. If my interpretation is correct, there will be no private sector options available - at all !

 

If not seen, I suggest you read this thread. Which aside from raising some opinions on why this has happened, illustrates with perfect timing how quickly the government can change their minds !

 

If expats are now in the Thai governmental vaccination program, it will beg the obvious question of ‘when’ ? With only one apparent vaccination option, I am already hearing rumors of backs being scratched to get priority vaccination. Quelle surprise....

 

For those unable or unwilling to scratch backs, let’s be realistic that based on published vaccination distribution targets, it’s more than likely we are looking at at least six months, after the aged, high-risk, front-line personnel and no doubt the pen pushers at government departments. 

 

All in all guys & gals, I would consider this as very ‘mixed’ news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a skinback today by the Thai Enquirer on that original report... so either they got it wrong the first time, or, the government was forced to change course again....

 

[Update-1] Government clarifies, says private businesses should not look to import vaccines

 

Thailand’s government clarified its position on Thursday regarding the importation of vaccines by private entities by saying that hospitals will still be welcomed to find vaccines while private businesses should wait for the government’s program.

...

With mounting criticism, the government clarified its position on Thursday by saying that the Thai Chamber of Commerce statement applied to only private business looking to vaccinate their staff and not private hospitals looking to purchase vaccines.

 

The government said that it will continue to expedite and allow private hospitals to acquire their own vaccines to supplement the national pool.

 

https://www.thaienquirer.com/26993/course-changed-government-says-private-sector-has-no-need-to-order-vaccines/

 

Except, as of earlier this week, several private hospital execs were still saying they were getting zero cooperation from the government to support / clear the way for their own private vaccine acquisition efforts.  So the public policy statements one way or the other may not matter that much!

 

 

[redwood1]

Folks Thailand NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER gives anything to expats for FREE......Whats the ulterior motive here??...........Expat-Free- No-way.

[scubascuba3]

18 minutes ago, redwood1 said:

Folks Thailand NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER gives anything to expats for FREE......Whats the ulterior motive here??...........Expat-Free- No-way.

Let's hope our countries have encouraged them to not ignore the farang, maybe a condition on getting the freebie doses from farangland

[crazykopite]

15 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

It's RESIDENTS ONLY.  If you do not possess a Thai ID, you are not eligible.  You can only go the private route, which at the moment the hospitals have yet to receive any stocks of vaccine. 

Yes I read this a few weeks back when it was stated that those ex pats with a yellow house book and pink ID card would be given the vaccine for free . I am one of those and although fit I am in the 70+ age group but as yet I have heard nothing more I am not even sure if Koh Phangan has received any vaccines yet even though the island have very recently had the virus on the island due to people being allowed to travel from Bangkok up until then we had been virus free since the start of the Covid outbreak the virus didn’t blow away in the wind as the PM said it would a year ago ☹️☹️☹️

Edited April 29, 2021 by crazykopite