A medical staff member draw vials of the Coronavac vaccine, before administering it to members of the Klong Toey community, at a school in Bangkok on May 4, 2021. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

 

by Veena Thoopkrajae, with additional reporting by Kanokchan Pattanapichai

 

Thailand’s foreign residents are often left scratching their heads at the confusing and sometimes apparently contradictory information on Covid-19 vaccines and their eligibility for a jab

 

While many Thais are talking about their Covid-19 vaccine choices, if indeed there are any, and vaccination schedules, a large number of expats have been left clueless as to whether they have access to vaccines and if so, which, when and how.

 

A blog post on Mahidol University’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases’ Thai Travel Clinic website dated April 4 has so far proved the most reliable source. The website provides basic information ranging from the vaccine brands that are licensed and available in Thailand, the importers, the target population of this vaccine, whether the vaccine is free for foreigners too, if it’s available in hospitals or clinics, and how expats living in Thailand can get their jabs.

 

The information includes the option of going back to their own country if they do not want to wait in Thailand. But with the pandemic showing no real signs of abating, travelling remains difficult and the medical appointment processes in their own countries, not to mention the quarantine requirements they would face on their return, make this impractical not to mention expensive.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/a-shot-in-the-arm-foreign-residents-and-their-eligibility-for-a-jab/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-05-06

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

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3 minutes ago, webfact said:

The information includes the option of going back to their own country

aka, if you don't like it go home lol

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

The information includes the option of going back to their own country if they do not want to wait in Thailand.

Might find they are barred from going back home to get a vaccination until they actually get a vaccination !

Thailand is a very confusing place T 1T

3 hours ago, daveAustin said:

aka, if you don't like it go home lol

I'm not living in Thailand anymore because of this poop! left end of 2019 just before it all started, There are Thai's all over the world getting treated as they should as anyone else in a country, But good old Thailand NOT they don't like us at all, WE ARE POOP TO THEM........

Edited May 5, 20215 yr by henry213
better word for the blocker

Yet was government not saying very recently that they wanted to attract more western retirees because of the economic benefits they bring to the country, how the heck are they going to do that if they treat existing retirees as an under class!

1 minute ago, Brierley said:

Yet was government not saying very recently that they wanted to attract more western retirees because of the economic benefits they bring to the country, how the heck are they going to do that if they treat existing retirees as an under class!

There is absolutely no co-ordination between any branches of government. They are each run as personal fiefdoms, operating for the benefit of the political clan chiefs and clans who were handed the jobs at the shareouts...

 

She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She.................

 

No doubt in a few years it will be all very clear ..... or not. 

Is anyone really surprised of more misinformation and yet another cock up? 

6 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

There is absolutely no co-ordination between any branches of government. They are each run as personal fiefdoms, operating for the benefit of the political clan chiefs and clans who were handed the jobs at the shareouts...

 

 

Hence the need for committees.

 

 

But the people have the government they deserve, and probably deep down, want?

 

 

Let gthe Embassies in Thailand vaccinate the people of    their country.. how difficult can that be?

2 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Let gthe Embassies in Thailand vaccinate the people of    their country.. how difficult can that be?

It's not their job to look after the health of their citizens overseas, they're not missionaries.

3 minutes ago, Brierley said:

It's not their job to look after the health of their citizens overseas, they're not missionaries.

Indeed.. but these are not normal times, surely not for foreigners in Thailand

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Might find they are barred from going back home to get a vaccination until they actually get a vaccination !

Flew back to the states and got mine. an month ago. All I  Needed was a negative Covid test. Now in Bangkok doing the 7 day quarantine . 

Edited May 5, 20215 yr by Billpro785

I'm heading to the USA next week to get mine. This is a cluster<deleted>.

 

What's amazing is, on one hand they aren't letting private hospitals order the vaccine, on the other hand they insist Thais will get the vaccine before us dirty falang.

 

If they had allowed us to buy the vaccine from private hospitals I'd already be vaccinated.

 

This government is just idiotic.

Edited May 6, 20215 yr by metisdead
Profanity removed.

9 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

I'm heading to the USA next week to get mine. This is a cluster<deleted>.

 

What's amazing is, on one hand they aren't letting private hospitals order the vaccine, on the other hand they insist Thais will get the vaccine before us dirty falang.

 

If they had allowed us to buy the vaccine from private hospitals I'd already be vaccinated.

 

This government is just idiotic.

You farang, you no understand.

22 minutes ago, henry213 said:

I'm not living in Thailand anymore because of this poop! left end of 2019 just before it all started, There are Thai's all over the world getting treated as they should as anyone else in a country, But good old Thailand NOT they don't like us at all, WE ARE POOP TO THEM........

Yes, I'm back in the UK since 2019 after ten years. On days like this I know it was the right thing to do. The soi dogs will get the jab before the farangs and then get accused of spreading the virus.

14 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Let gthe Embassies in Thailand vaccinate the people of    their country.. how difficult can that be?

 

 

There are a lot of hurdles, especially adminstration of the vaccines, but - and this will never happen - a country could make an offer to Thailand of five million doses, a portion of which (up to 20%) would be made available to ex-pats from the country. 

 

 

This CureVac mRNA vaccine sounds promising...especially as it can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures. Hopefully the Phase 3 trials will be a success and it will add to the world's Covid-19 arsenal.

 

The German company CureVac hopes its RNA vaccine will rival those made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. It could be ready next month.

 

The New York Times: This New Covid Vaccine Could Bring Hope to the Unvaccinated World.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/health/covid-vaccine-curevac.html

11 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

 

There are a lot of hurdles, especially adminstration of the vaccines, but - and this will never happen - a country could make an offer to Thailand of five million doses, a portion of which (up to 20%) would be made available to ex-pats from the country. 

 

 

The problem is not Western expats it's the much larger population of Burmese and workers from other Asian countries, some here legally, many not. Western expats may total low six digits, the total number of expats however is in the millions.

22 minutes ago, smudger1951 said:

Yes, I'm back in the UK since 2019 after ten years. On days like this I know it was the right thing to do.

You sure about that...???????? 128,000 deaths...???????? 303? (https://g.co/kgs/R1X57y)

 

If Thailand wasn't for you that's fine...but don't say it has anything to do with Covid, which wasn't even a thing when you left. It has been objectively worse for people in the UK than Thailand.

 

And if the UK was such a great choice (assuming you have a very fulfilling life there), why do you still follow and post on a Thailand focused internet forum?

Edited May 6, 20215 yr by Pattaya Spotter

34 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Let gthe Embassies in Thailand vaccinate the people of    their country.. how difficult can that be?

Yes I was thinking the same but the embassies don’t care about their citizens, the British embassy anyway.

46 minutes ago, Brierley said:

Yet was government not saying very recently that they wanted to attract more western retirees because of the economic benefits they bring to the country, how the heck are they going to do that if they treat existing retirees as an under class!

 

Typical for Thailand....they always cut off their nose to spite their own face. I see it day in and day out. Employees treating customers badly, not realizing or caring that by treating one customer poorly they have forever lost all the potential referrals that customer could have brought them for additional revenue. It's all part of this destructive mindset to think "in the moment" with no regard for the future and the consequences of their actions. 

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Let gthe Embassies in Thailand vaccinate the people of    their country.. how difficult can that be?

What about all the Thai's getting vacines all over the world with no problems coz they live somewhere else, i know some, what is it with Thai lovers thinking Thai's should be treated so well in Thailand and <deleted> all foreigners? Thailand is nasty when it comes to us should we treat them the same in our counties? maybe send them all back to get jabs? maybe i should tell my wife to get her ass on a plane back to Thailand and get her jab there? ?????????? 

3 hours ago, daveAustin said:

aka, if you don't like it go home lol

...sorry, can't do that...can't leave cause i can't get vaccinated.

42 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Let gthe Embassies in Thailand vaccinate the people of    their country.. how difficult can that be?

I don't trust them with my tax dollars, certainly not going to trust them with a needle. Not to mention they don't have any facilities to handle allergic reactions, hospitalizations needed, etc etc. In effect, they would have to farm it out to the local health authorities....and most of these vaccines require extreme cold storage and special shipping...again...they would need to acquire locally to do it right.

48 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

There is absolutely no co-ordination between any branches of government. They are each run as personal fiefdoms, operating for the benefit of the political clan chiefs and clans who were handed the jobs at the shareouts...

 

Like a number of other words in the English language I could mention, I have seen little evidence that there could be a word or phrase in the Thai language that would translate to co-ordination.

Just now, fittobethaied said:

 

Typical for Thailand....they always cut off their nose to spite their own face. I see it day in and day out. Employees treating customers badly, not realizing or caring that by treating one customer poorly they have forever lost all the potential referrals that customer could have brought them for additional revenue. It's all part of this destructive mindset to think "in the moment" with no regard for the future and the consequences of their actions. 

I think an earlier poster got it right, the government ministries are a bunch of individual silo's that are only joined very loosely at the top. Trying to get the bottom of one silo to interact with the bottom of other silo's, in an agreed manner, is almost impossible unless it comes from the very very top.

Come on Thailand, make your country the HUB of vaccinations

48 minutes ago, Zack61 said:

She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She.................

 

No doubt in a few years it will be all very clear ..... or not. 

...it will be very clear..you won't have any more fields of daisy petals left to pluck.

3 hours ago, daveAustin said:

aka, if you don't like it go home lol

...sorry, can't do that...can't leave cause i can't get vaccinated.