2 hours ago, webfact said:

The US government has provided $30 million in COVID-related assistance to Thailand...

Any help to fight the virus is a good thing.  Uncle Sam has actually given Thailand millions of dollars every year for decades and I'm certain that the money has always been put to good use. I know one time a bridge was built... 

 

11 hours ago, Karma80 said:

Whatever the details and how it gets (mis)manged locally. that headline is good news.

 

Agreed. 

Let's hope USA will gift Thailand Covid vaccines in order expedite vaccination programme as it is imperative as many of Thai's vaccinated as quickly as possible  so far China has supplied vaccines hopefully without conditions but what about their own population are they being vaccinated.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

According to a press release from the US Embassy

 

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/statement-on-the-visit-of-deputy-secretary-wendy-r-sherman-to-thailand/

 

 

Diplomatically detail-free.

 

 

 

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/02/politics/white-house-vaccine-sharing/index.html

 

White House prepared to announce next steps in global vaccination effort after months of debate

 

President Joe Biden has finalized his plan to distribute millions of coronavirus vaccines worldwide after months of deliberation, according to multiple sources familiar with the plans.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted earlier that an announcement was imminent, and the sources familiar with the plans said that officials could reveal it as soon as Thursday or Friday.

 

"In a few short days, in fact possibly as early as tomorrow, the President is going to announce in more detail the plan that he's put together to push out 80 million vaccines around the world that we have at our disposal or soon will have at our disposal," Blinken said Wednesday at the US Embassy in Costa Rica.

12 hours ago, connda said:

The US government can supply vaccines as foreign aid to foreign countries and yet they can not (will not) supply vaccines to their own US citizens overseas!
And yet China can supply their citizens overseas with vaccines.
What else do you need to know about our exceptional nation and how we expats (don't) benefit from our country's largess?

So - the US will supply Thailand with vaccines, and then US citizens abroad will be placed at the end of the line to receive their vaccines after Thais get their shots which were given to them by the US Government???
Does that sound about right?
The Thai government has a racist distribution policy that will be directly supported by the US government as US citizens are put at the end of the vaccination lines.
This reads better then a Kurt Vonnegut novel - you can't make this stuff up!
Welcome to Wacky-World ????

 

I understand what you are saying and that is what was in the news. However we are presently being registered in Hua Hin to receive vaccine. I registered and received a date, place, and time next month. Now if that was for USA brand vaccines so much the better!

3 hours ago, webfact said:

According to a press release from the US Embassy, they discussed ties between the US and Thailand, Mekong regional issues, and the crisis in Myanmar.

Ties between the US and Thailand? China is gradually replacing the US.

Mekong regional issues? China controls the Mekong water.

Crisis in Myanmar? China is Burma's strongest supporter.

Does this mean they discussed China, China and China? I doubt it...

13 hours ago, club said:

It means any handout the PM will take is money in his pocket

why would the PM take money?  he already rich?

7 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

In this case, speaking as an American, the U.S. totally got owned by China when it came to "vaccine diplomacy" with Thailand.

 

Thailand is supposed to be an important regional ally for the U.S., notwithstanding its close ties to China... But the U.S. govt. and the State Department got totally left in the dust on this one, while the Chinese did what they've been doing around the world in a variety of venues/sectors to ingratiate themselves with the locals.

 

What could the U.S. Embassy folks in BKK and the SE Asian State Department folks have been thinking while they stood idly by and watched China leave them flat-footed.

 

 

It may be mostly a case of a poor PR effort on the US's part.  China started "donating" its vaccines (and touting it) before they'd begun to vaccinate their own population. Why, I wonder. The US has made sure its own population was vaccinated first, but in the meantime has pledged plenty of money - and now it looks like vaccines -  to help the global effort.

 

And we rarely hear about other US programs - how many know about AFRIMS or the US CDC in Thailand?

 

"The Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, or AFRIMS, has been cooperating with Thai scientists for over sixty years, developing cutting-edge vaccines that have saved countless lives.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has its largest office outside of the United States in Bangkok and has been working closely with the Ministry of Public Health and other Thai officials on pandemic response."

 - From 28 Oct 2020 "Remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Michael George DeSombre" https://th.usembassy.gov/ambassador-desombre-remarks-ipbf-2020/

 

 

 

 

Broken record here...

 

Donate 5 MM doses (minimum). 4.5 MM are for Thais, 500K are for Americans. Free of charge for Thais. Americans will have to pay an adminstration fee, of 1,000 baht (or 500 baht per dose) to the Thai government to cover their costs of administering the vaccine through their channels.

 

 

2 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

I don't think you'll find many impressed with the country that has created this pandemic

Millions of us here, mate! 

12 hours ago, Blumpie said:

Interesting concept.  

Believe it or not it was America who put the THB on the manipulated currency list and insisted on these measures, not the other way around.  That is why it is so high.

It's going to become normal for first world countries to supply third world countries with vaccines as they get vaccinated.  You will see much of this in the coming six months.  They are not going to hold onto vaccines they cannot use.  

If Im not mistaken, Canada has the most per capita, I think enough to vaccinate its citizens six times over.  The US will have much more to give out than anyone very shortly.  

Things are looking up - but again, administering these doses takes much time.  And I write again Thailand hasn't even figured out the almighty question who - who will administer 60 million doses X2?  They seem incapable of anything but a knee - jerk reaction to problems.  

Administering jabs is not rocket science. Most pharmacists already do it. It takes only like a 1 hour class.

 

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

In this case, speaking as an American, the U.S. totally got owned by China when it came to "vaccine diplomacy" with Thailand.

 

Thailand is supposed to be an important regional ally for the U.S., notwithstanding its close ties to China... But the U.S. govt. and the State Department got totally left in the dust on this one, while the Chinese did what they've been doing around the world in a variety of venues/sectors to ingratiate themselves with the locals.

 

What could the U.S. Embassy folks in BKK and the SE Asian State Department folks have been thinking while they stood idly by and watched China leave them flat-footed.

 

Thailand might be an ally, but they don’t do much business with the US. If they did, there would be direct flights between the two countries.

 

1 hour ago, nkg said:

 

 

Supply and demand. The demand for US vaccines was and remains huge. There wasn't enough to go around. And were Thailand actually trying to buy US vaccines a couple of months ago? The US can only sell to countries who are interested in buying.

 

Let's hope that the US and Thailand can make some US vaccines available later in the year. I imagine there will be some excess AZ available from the UK and Europe soon, too, and China may have more to send Thailand's way.

 

 

 

The US government doesn’t sell vaccines. It is made by private US companies. They need to speak directly with them.

10 minutes ago, onekoolguy said:

Now if that was for USA brand vaccines so much the better!

How are they better? 

2 minutes ago, hioctane said:

The US government doesn’t sell vaccines.

No, but it does donate them.  

3 minutes ago, hioctane said:

If they did, there would be direct flights between the two countries.

How does that logic work?  

13 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Sounds interesting.

 

How much meat is on this bone remains to be seen.

 

 

All I got out of this was a that the United States "is ready to help Thailand procure Covid-19 vaccines".

 

No clue what that means? Vaccine swap? Straight up donation? Loan? Here, use our credit card?

 

 

 

The department of state has refused to assist Americans in Thailand. So there is no swap and no intention to make a deal with Thailand to use some of those vaccines for Americans. Unlike the way china did. Sad to say and be proud to be an American when they don't care at all about us outside of the USA. Our tax dollars go only to those foreign nations and citizens living inside America. 

2 minutes ago, hioctane said:

Administering jabs is not rocket science. Most pharmacists already do it. It takes only like a 1 hour class.

 

Thailand might be an ally, but they don’t do much business with the US. If they did, there would be direct flights between the two countries.

 

The US government doesn’t sell vaccines. It is made by private US companies. They need to speak directly with them.

There are no direct flights because it's too far.  There use to be 2, one to LAX and the other to NYC.  Neither were profitable, so they were stopped.

 

Pfizer went it alone with regards to the jabs, Moderna, J&J and AZ got government funding.  So yes, the US government does to a certain degree control these 2 jabs.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed

22 minutes ago, malibukid said:

why would the PM take money?  he already rich?

It's nature.....

....Hooray!...here comes the Cavalry.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Mrs Sherman said the US intended to supply COVID-19 vaccines to countries to help them get through the pandemic and thus it was ready to offer Thailand’s access to the vaccines

But but but Siam Bioscience is the saviour?

3 hours ago, nkg said:

 

 

Supply and demand. The demand for US vaccines was and remains huge. There wasn't enough to go around. And were Thailand actually trying to buy US vaccines a couple of months ago? The US can only sell to countries who are interested in buying.

 

Let's hope that the US and Thailand can make some US vaccines available later in the year. I imagine there will be some excess AZ available from the UK and Europe soon, too, and China may have more to send Thailand's way.

 

 

 

The BioNTech vaccine is not a "US vaccine".  It was developed in Germany by a German and a Turkish immigrant. Pfizer has the rights to manufacture it for most of the world but BioNTech is also manufacturing it themselves in Germany and they recently signed up with another company to manufacture it in China. 

 

The AstraZeneca vaccine was developed by Oxford in the UK and AstraZeneca itself is a UK company.   

 

Just about everything else you said is also wrong but I won't bother wasting any more keystrokes since you are too busy waving your flag around to listen.

Well, okay if the US wants to help. But help in supplying vaccines? Didn't certain people in the Thai gov. say that they had enough to go around already???

1 minute ago, TKDfella said:

Well, okay if the US wants to help. But help in supplying vaccines? Didn't certain people in the Thai gov. say that they had enough to go around already???

He was just discussing present company I expect. 

13 hours ago, connda said:

The US government can supply vaccines as foreign aid to foreign countries and yet they can not (will not) supply vaccines to their own US citizens overseas!
And yet China can supply their citizens overseas with vaccines.
What else do you need to know about our exceptional nation and how we expats (don't) benefit from our country's largess?

So - the US will supply Thailand with vaccines, and then US citizens abroad will be placed at the end of the line to receive their vaccines after Thais get their shots which were given to them by the US Government???
Does that sound about right?
The Thai government has a racist distribution policy that will be directly supported by the US government as US citizens are put at the end of the vaccination lines.
This reads better then a Kurt Vonnegut novel - you can't make this stuff up!
Welcome to Wacky-World ????

 

This deserves an overwhelming response to your congress person to demand US citizens should be given the vaccine. But dreaming about it does nobody any good. The Thai government would not agree to accept the vaccines under those terms. They are too selfish and greedy, but so are a lot of US politicians, especially Republicans. There is no way the Trump administration would have even thought about doing this, or care to for that matter.

 

As Connda said: This is definitely a Wacky-World.  ????

Wow, now this monkeys akzept help from 'dirty' farangs

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

...thus it was ready to offer Thailand’s access to the vaccines.

 

Access to the vaccines has never been the issue.  It's getting off the dime and getting them on order. 

 

Which, if you want western origin vaccines, requires forgoing the usual bribes and kickbacks in the wake of the Airbus, Rolls Royce, and Toyota bribery fines.

 

My bet?  They'll punt on this because there's nothing in it for the elite.

The carefully chosen term is "supplying" which could mean sale on commercial terms, sale at a discount or straight up donation.

 

Vague enough!

10 minutes ago, shdmn said:

The BioNTech vaccine is not a "US vaccine".  It was developed in Germany by a Turkish immigrant. Pfizer has the rights to manufacture it for most of the world but BioNTech is also manufacturing it themselves in Germany and they recently signed up with another company to manufacture it in China. 

 

The AstraZeneca vaccine was developed by Oxford in the UK and AstraZeneca itself is a UK company.   

 

Just about everything else you said is also wrong but I won't bother wasting any more keystrokes and you wave your flag around.

 

 

You just edited your post and added lots of extra keystrokes ... you shouldn't have bothered. Where did I say that AZ wasn't a UK company? You're just inventing nonsense.

 

I'm not going to bother arguing with your provocative drivel, I couldn't care less if the vaccine was invented by a German, a Turk or a Martian. Go and bore somebody else.

 

13 hours ago, connda said:

The US government can supply vaccines as foreign aid to foreign countries and yet they can not (will not) supply vaccines to their own US citizens overseas!
And yet China can supply their citizens overseas with vaccines.
What else do you need to know about our exceptional nation and how we expats (don't) benefit from our country's largess?

So - the US will supply Thailand with vaccines, and then US citizens abroad will be placed at the end of the line to receive their vaccines after Thais get their shots which were given to them by the US Government???
Does that sound about right?
The Thai government has a racist distribution policy that will be directly supported by the US government as US citizens are put at the end of the vaccination lines.
This reads better then a Kurt Vonnegut novel - you can't make this stuff up!
Welcome to Wacky-World ????

 

If you are a US citizenship just fly back to the US and get your shots it’s that easy it’s not free the taxpayers pay for it

1 hour ago, Dialemco said:

Let's hope USA will gift Thailand Covid vaccines in order expedite vaccination programme as it is imperative as many of Thai's vaccinated as quickly as possible  so far China has supplied vaccines hopefully without conditions but what about their own population are they being vaccinated.

In the USA now you can walk into many Walmarts and other providers to get Vaccine on demand.