Thai health ministry denies they are giving free jabs to expats - Thais come first

[DUNROAMIN]

3 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

This is disgusting, plain and simple.

In one fell swoop, Thailand has proven that it is fifty years behind the rest of the world.

 

and some more.

[DefaultName]

I fully understand the Thai government putting Thai's first in most things.  In a pandemic though, you vaccinate everyone or the virus keeps spreading.

 

I'd be happy if they would just allow private hospitals to buy and sell at a profit to anyone who wants a vaccination.  I do not understand why they won't do this, it wouldn't come from government stocks, so it wouldn't impact on their program.  Unless certain posters are correct and it's all about backhanders.

[DUNROAMIN]

Well who would have thought that, surprise, surprise, surprise.

[bimmerbob]

3 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

This is disgusting, plain and simple.

In one fell swoop, Thailand has proven that it is fifty years behind the rest of the world.

 

 

Agreed, words fail me.........

[Cake Monster]

3 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Good to know that racism and discrimination are alive and well here. And here I thought compassion was taking a leading edge. Not!

Any Falang who thought that they would be treated on an equal basis to any Thais has been delusional.

 

[madmen]

17 minutes ago, kuzie57 said:

 I wonder if the Australian government who have donated some $2.8mill towards the vaccine rollout will be happy to hear this??? 

 

That money has already been divided and spent.. On  property portfolios I suspect

[mikosan]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

Got a very prompt (ok boilerplate) response:-

 

 

Yes, I bet he is, b******t! 

[clivebaxter]

I'm sure most of us are not bothered about getting it free, the cost of approx. 100 baht per shot plus admin fee will be quite manageable thanks

[lks7689]

3 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

This is disgusting, plain and simple.

In one fell swoop, Thailand has proven that it is fifty years behind the rest of the world.

 

If you been in Thailand long enough you would already know that is the case. I'm just surprised how many of you here didnt realize that and continue to rant here about something they should be well aware of. 

[WaveHunter]

9 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Exactly, every country in the world has had arguments over priority, the reality is not everyone can be first and decisions have to be made.

Everyone wants a choice, but deny the government the right to choose how to govern.

So many expats seem to be freaking out over this right now here in Thailand, and I admit I was one of them initially, but the fact is that we'll ALL be vaccinated soon.

 

When you really think about it, what difference does it really make...maybe a few months of waiting?

 

I don't think that's something that should elicit emotional hysteria.  I mean, there are very few countries in the world right now that are safer to be in for an unvaccinated person than Thailand.

Edited May 5, 2021 by WaveHunter

[ukrules]

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I wonder the furore back home if out governments started denying people their allocated vaccine slot based on race?

There's no need to deny people vaccination by race.

 

Just make a short list of countries which refuse to vaccinate foreigners and reciprocate that treatment and leave them to fend for themselves.

 

I believe it would be a very short list of countries, perhaps just one.

[BernieOnTour]

3 minutes ago, whiteflight said:

In 6 months time a lot of people will have died who did not have to die.

 

... and based on the average death rates from 2019,

 

1,492 x 180 = 268,560 would have anyway died

 

Compare that to the 318 Covid death

in ~ 14 months :

Those 318 are equivalent to 318 / 1,492 * 24 hours

 

= ~ 5 hours of all the deaths on a average day 

 

For sure, the question of under-reporting will now pop up again ...

Even, if we would (wrongfully) assume a 10-fold higher number of Covid deaths,

we would still only talk about 2 days of average deaths in 14 months.

 

 

[Caldera]

I don't mind that they are unwilling to give expats the vaccine for free. I do mind, however, that they prioritize by nationality and that they've actively hindered private hospitals from purchasing vaccines that they could SELL to expats. That's shameful.

[PEE TEE]

36 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

So let's take the UK......eventually they will start to vaccinate low risk groups 20-40 years old, through to the end of this year........and the UK, lets say, has a large contingent of elderly, retired foreigners at high risk and dying on a regular basis from covid..........you let them die because they are not British...tell them to go home....tell them tough get on with it???

It was Thais and farang over 60 and those with underline health problems over 60s  the vaccine would be AZ

[clivebaxter]

2 minutes ago, lks7689 said:

If you been in Thailand long enough you would already know that is the case. I'm just surprised how many of you here didnt realize that and continue to rant here about something they should be well aware of. 

Yes but the government already announced they will be vaccinating everyone, must be one of those Thai 'misunderstandings' I see mentioned so often!

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand has denied that they are giving free Covid-19  jabs to foreign expats living in Thailand.

Are we surprised... not one bit.

[OJAS]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Expats would have to wait for further details from the government

 

Which will no doubt be forthcoming by the year 2564. And that's 2564 A.D., not 2564 B.E., of course.

[alien365]

 This makes no difference to me as I'm healthy and relatively young. No doubt I'll be one of the last to get the vaccine and that's fine. 

 

I do however feel disgusted with the approach the government has decided to take. It shouldn't matter what your nationality is; if you are more at risk of catching the disease or have a high risk of death, you should be vaccinated asap.

[Daveyh]

If this latest information regarding the covid19 vaccination of foreigners here is true it certainly shows everyone in the world the mindset of this country's finest. This is is racism at it's worst & I'm very sad to read about this on TV. They do say that in the Land of Smiles there are many types of smile that exist, but all have different meanings. If this prioritizing due to race is confirmed once the vaccines are available I can only say that the recovery of tourism, a retirement venue & the most popular choice for holiday's will be a thing of the past. Europeans will not take kindly to this, news travels fast, they will show it by voting with their feet & go elsewhere. A great shame as Thailand's a beautiful country run by a bunch of idiots .... fact.    

Edited May 5, 2021 by Daveyh

[Surelynot]

Just now, Caldera said:

I don't mind that they are unwilling to give expats the vaccine for free. I do mind, however, that they prioritize by nationality and that they've actively hindered private hospitals from purchasing vaccines that they could SELL to expats. That's shameful.

But the same argument applies....making vaccines available, selling them, still means those vaccines are not going into the arms of Thais........they can't make the statement they have made and then allow vaccines to be purchased by expats .......(well they can and probably will)

[mduras01]

Why is anyone complaining? The government is saving expat lives by not allowing that Chinese garbage in their veins.

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

This is disgusting, plain and simple.

In one fell swoop, Thailand has proven that it is fifty years behind the rest of the world.

 

It doesn't give a hoot about the rest of the world... Thailand now has a military leadership well entrenched and it will do things exactly how it wants.

[sambum]

3 hours ago, Minime said:

I think all UK citizens here should email our Ambassador for Thailand (Brian.Davidson2 @ fcdo.gov.uk)   and express our disgust at this blatant discrimination, after all the UK is offering free test and vaccines to all Thai nationals residing in the UK and that is a fact.

Have tried, but every time I press "Send" the address on the email header changes automatically, and I get the message "No results found"!

[madmen]

4 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

So many expats seem to be freaking out over this right now here in Thailand, and I admit I was one of them initially, but the fact is that we'll ALL be vaccinated soon, and when you really think about it, what difference does it really make...maybe a few months of waiting?

 

I don't think that's something that should elicit emotional hysteria.  I mean, there are very few countries in the world right now that are safer to be in for an unvaccinated person than Thailand.

You don't know if it's safer because you can't be sure if it's 2k per day or many multiples. I suspect it's the later and seriously your expecting a jab " in a few months"..??? 

[Surelynot]

4 minutes ago, PEE TEE said:

It was Thais and farang over 60 and those with underline health problems over 60s  the vaccine would be AZ

Let me know if you get an appointment.

[Gwen1234]

3 hours ago, tgw said:

Apparently, the administration has its own mind and applies laws in the way it pleases.

 

I have seen this several times already - the law says one thing, in theory including foreigners in its application, and then the administration, on it's own, decides it's "Thai only" or "non-directors only" or whatever.

 

One example is the registration with Thai social security - the law says anyone receiving a salary can register, but the SS office refuses to register directors. With no legal basis.
Another example is registration of an usufruct - Land offices just refuse to do it. Without any legal basis again. Land offices are just there to officially register legal acts permitted by law, not to decide whether they want to accept or not to do it, they should have no say at all other than requiring the necessary documents.
I'm sure there are many other examples.

 

I'd love for someone to take one of these places to court and challenge their practices, surely the courts would rule against them and set precedent for the whole country ? 

[sandyf]

23 minutes ago, whiteflight said:

In 6 months time a lot of people will have died who did not have to die.
That may be an "acceptable loss" to you, it is not to me or to those who have no choice

because there is currently no vaccine available while an outbreak rages.

Thailand, unlike many other countries, did NOT make any major purchase agreements

with the main vaccine providers, as you can tell by Thailand not being able to start general vaccinations of even high risk groups until June.  That is something to be outraged about, as well as about your callous disregard for human life.

You should refrain from posting false information.

In Nov last year Thailand ordered 26 million from AZ, which have yet to be delivered. Maybe you should tell us how many governments of emerging economies had placed large vaccine orders before November.

Of course to many on this forum it would be the Thai governments fault that the EU and India restricted exports of the AZ vaccine.

 

In November 2020, the authorities ordered 26 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca, which reported 70% overall efficacy.^[82] It requires 2 doses of vaccine per person, so the quantity ordered would only covered 13 million people.^[83] Prayut cabinet later approved budget for ordering 35 million additional doses in January 2021.^[84] Siam Bioscience will received technological transfer for co-investment.^[85] The authorities would also imported 2 million doses of vaccine from Sinovac, a Chinese company which Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand invested in,^[86] during February to April 2021.^[87]

Likewise, Thai government also stepped up its attempt to produce its homeground vaccines amidst criticism,^[88] with "ChulaCov19" and set to put trial on May 2021.^[89] Phase I testing of the NDV-HXP-S vaccine began at Mahidol University in March 2021.^[90][91]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_Thailand}

Edited May 5, 2021 by Crossy
ReRemoved reference to ownership of Siam Biosciencece

[PEE TEE]

My wife just this minuet phone the hospital and they say they ARE taking Ex -pats  over 60 .they say the Morprom app my not be ok but to go with your passport to registrar in person for the June July session . this is the government hospital in Samui   

[Scouse123]

32 minutes ago, whiteflight said:

In 6 months time a lot of people will have died who did not have to die.
That may be an "acceptable loss" to you, it is not to me or to those who have no choice

because there is currently no vaccine available while an outbreak rages.

Thailand, unlike many other countries, did NOT make any major purchase agreements

with the main vaccine providers, as you can tell by Thailand not being able to start general vaccinations of even high risk groups until June.  That is something to be outraged about, as well as about your callous disregard for human life.

 

You speak correct but I suggest just sitting and watching this one out.

 

Astra Zenica who are the vaccines developer will not allow Thailand to just do as it pleases. That will not happen. The eyes of the world are on them.

 

I would also encourage people to contact Embassies and write to them complaining. That way it is pretty much guaranteed to ' raise awareness ' as to Thai policies.

 

This matter is not to be taken lightly, it is not some ' foreigner on overstay '  or ' feckless behaviour  ' that could have been avoided. I do not accept that it will be ignored in this instance by ANY EMBASSIES. It is too big a deal.

 

It is a pandemic and the Embassies can and will report back to their governments about how Thailand is handling the pandemic and treating its nationals and residents and people in the highly vulnerable categories regardless of nationality, which should be fairly, and without fear or favour.

 

Next, how much are the words getting twisted to deliberately ' fan the flames ' of discontent? How was the question worded to the health ministry?

 

I have no doubt there will have been baiting questions and misquoted answers here, by the media to grab headlines as that is the business they are in.

 

It is in Thailand's national interest to get everybody vaccinated not just Thais.

 

Completely agree with you about ridiculously and pathetic slow roll-out by the government who had ample time to prepare and change course with this.

 

We carry on regardless, wash hands, wear masks, avoid crowds, social distance, exercise, eat healthily, plenty of Vitamin D from the sun and await the announcements as I believe people are working their way up to heart attacks here, and they need to step back a bit..

 

I think clarification from the government will come soon after this headline.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2021 by Scouse123

[sambum]

5 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Are we surprised... not one bit.

 

Surprised at the statement or the fact?