The purpose of this poll is to try to measure the PURE level of vaccine hesitancy among expats in Thailand by posing a hypothetical question that doesn't even come close to the reality on the ground.

 

Because if the poll question reflected the reality on the ground, much of the response would be about that and not whether expats really want to be vaccinated or not. In other words many people that do want the jabs would say no if they had no choice of brand and had to take SInovac or nothing. 

 

So the hypothetical question is --

 

IF you had the chance to take a vaccine TODAY in Thailand and it was free and you had your choice of any of the global brand options of vaccines, would you take it or not?

I am eligible to be immunized in the first hi-risk group, potentially for free. But if that means being given Sinovac, I may chose to wait until an alternative becomes available, even if that means having to pay for it. I have nothing against Sinovac, it's potentially as good as any other and reports about its effacy are misplaced and not well understood. The problem is the EU has not officially recognized it and quarantine may be required as a result, what the UK position might be if Thailand were to become a red zone country, is unclear.

 

One problem I foresee in waiting is that as more people are vaccinated, mask usage is likely to become more lax hence the risk to the unvaccinated will increase.