Travel Advice Update 16 June 2021

[British Consular Team]

We've updated our Travel Advice pages with new information about how to register for vaccines ('Coronavirus' page).

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

[Excel]

You do understand do you that none of the Thai websites work, ? the provincial hospitals have no specific instruction to register foreigners for vaccines ?  and that even if they did they have no available vaccines  !!  Does the British consul live in a parallel universe ? Don't answer that as most Brits in Thailand have already concluded how useful you are to the British community here.

[Harry2]

29 minutes ago, Excel said:

You do understand do you that none of the Thai websites work, ? the provincial hospitals have no specific instruction to register foreigners for vaccines ?  and that even if they did they have no available vaccines  !!  Does the British consul live in a parallel universe ? Don't answer that as most Brits in Thailand have already concluded how useful you are to the British community here.

Correct in all respects Excel. The British Embassy is playing pretend -so they don't have to directly intervene like the French & Belgians, because of their pretence that there is a viable Thai system for foreigners.  The French & Belgians have correctly seen the complete shambles that is the Thai 'system' & to safeguard their nationals are organising vaccination directly. How fortunate for those nationals that they actually have embassies that genuinely safeguard their wellbeing - in practice as well as theory.

[Excel]

Just now, Harry2 said:

Correct in all respects Excel. The British Embassy is playing pretend -so they don't have to directly intervene like the French & Belgians, because of their pretence that there is a viable Thai system for foreigners.  The French & Belgians have correctly seen the complete shambles that is the Thai 'system' & to safeguard their nationals are organising vaccination directly. How fortunate for those nationals that they actually have embassies that genuinely safeguard their wellbeing - in practice as well as theory.

Just hope the next Ambassador has more concern  and gumption to fix things  then the outgoing one .

[pontious]

54 minutes ago, British Consular Team said:

We've updated our Travel Advice pages with new information about how to register for vaccines ('Coronavirus' page).

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand

I am sure you mean well with your post but unfortunately it will generate criticism from posters. 

Both the intervac and intervac/ expatriates websites do not work at all. As far as I know no private or government hospital in Pattaya has a list you can join as they do not have any vaccine available for us.

[Excel]

1 hour ago, Harry2 said:

Correct in all respects Excel. The British Embassy is playing pretend -so they don't have to directly intervene like the French & Belgians, because of their pretence that there is a viable Thai system for foreigners.  The French & Belgians have correctly seen the complete shambles that is the Thai 'system' & to safeguard their nationals are organising vaccination directly. How fortunate for those nationals that they actually have embassies that genuinely safeguard their wellbeing - in practice as well as theory.

I can expand on that .  A while back it was disclosed that not only British nationals at the Embassy had already received vaccinations but also the Thai staff there as well as the staff at the British Council, a non governmental organisation.  . At that time I asked the question as to why the British government could not ensure British nationals could not be given vaccinations in Thailand. It was informed that the NHS only provided this service within the UK. So hence I wondered how was it it that Thais and others here appear to have been vaccinated at the expense of the British government here in Thailand but to the exclusion of other British nationals, a reasonable question I thought.

These are the questions I asked;

1) When did British nationals at the British Embassy have their 1st injection

2) When did British nationals at the British Council in BKK receive their first vaccination

3) When did nationals of other countries including Thailand receive their vaccinations

4) Did all of the above receive vaccinations free of charge paid for by the British government

5) Were the vaccinations procured from within Thailand or were they shipped out from the UK.

 

I won't reproduce the answer I got but basically it said I would not be provided with that information and I should contact the FCO.

 

I did eventually receive a similar unsatisfactory response from the FCO in London.  So on May 4th I applied for that information under the  "Freedom of Information Act" and am currently awaiting their response. Indeed , unless there are redactions that response will be interesting and provide perhaps an insight into the integrity of the institution.

 

[jayboy]

The consular advice suggests British nationals can register at hospitals where they have health records.The reality is this isn't necessarily true.In my own case I have a longstanding record at Bumrungrad which holds my health records.I registered there at the earliest date possible (early May).I have a Thai ID number and a pink card and am age qualified (over 60) for priority.I was told  a week ago I would have to wait for the private sector vaccine.

 

It seems my only hope (before October or so) is if the Intervac site becomes workable.

[jayboy]

2 hours ago, Harry2 said:

their pretence that there is a viable Thai system for foreigners. 

 

I believe the British Embassy is doing its very best to collate information and establish the position on vaccinations for foreigners, an ever moving target.However it's extremely hard for the Embassy to get a hold on all this, exactly the position of most of us.

 

But you are 100% right to say there is no viable Thai system for foreigners at present.

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, jayboy said:

 

I believe the British Embassy is doing its very best to collate information and establish the position on vaccinations for foreigners, an ever moving target.However it's extremely hard for the Embassy to get a hold on all this, exactly the position of most of us.

 

But you are 100% right to say there is no viable Thai system for foreigners at present.

Of course they are. It must be frustrating when they get abuse from ungratefuls, for trying to help.

[Excel]

2 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Of course they are. It must be frustrating when they get abuse from ungratefuls, for trying to help.

You are still a jock at heart , can tell by your p$$s taking????????

[Harry2]

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Of course they are. It must be frustrating when they get abuse from ungratefuls, for trying to help.

There is no 'abuse' in any of the comments above but justified criticism of the approach of the British embassy versus that of the Chinese, French & Belgium embassies. There is no national working vaccination system for foreigners, the Intervac sites, which were linked to at the beginning of this thread are a sick dysfunctional joke. It is a bizarre concept that we should be 'grateful' for such pointless 'advice', the Britsh embassy can see the reality of the situation & needs to face up to it in the same way the French & Belgians have done.

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, Harry2 said:

There is no 'abuse' in any of the comments above but justified criticism of the approach of the British embassy versus that of the Chinese, French & Belgium embassies. There is no national working vaccination system for foreigners, the Intervac sites, which were linked to at the beginning of this thread are a sick dysfunctional joke. It is a bizarre concept that we should be 'grateful' for such pointless 'advice', the Britsh embassy can see the reality of the situation & needs to face up to it in the same way the French & Belgians have done.

Do you need the British Embassy to do everything for you? Many foreigners that I know registered for the vaccines and many of those over 60 have already got it. It really isn't a problem. 

 

[pontious]

19 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Many foreigners that I know registered for the vaccines and many of those over 60 have already got it.

Where did they register and where did they get it?  How many.?

So no  one under 60 got it.?

[Harry2]

47 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

Do you need the British Embassy to do everything for you? Many foreigners that I know registered for the vaccines and many of those over 60 have already got it. It really isn't a problem. 

 

It is simply untrue that 'many over 60' have already got it - the national figures for vaccination of various priority groups shows only a small % of ALL over 60s have been vaccinated. Expat over 60's who have actually received jabs are a tiny minority of the total - some in Phuket, some in Bangkok & a handful elsewhere. You may not be aware but the national intervac website has disastrously failed since inception & is currently not functioning. In Pattaya a city with a large over 60 expat population I would estimate less than 1% have secured jabs, there is simply almost no method of even registering - see Pattaya Forum thread for details. It is a massive problem right across Thailand and it is a gross misrepresentation of reality to pretend otherwise.

 

Now too deal with your infantile opening retort 'Do you need the British Embassy to do everything for you?". As is clear from my posts I am solely focussed on one specific issue - the need for the British embassy to accept the chaotic reality of the situation in Thailand & follow the example of the French & Belgian embassies in arranging vaccines for their nationals themselves. That is a perfectly reasonable suggestion & so that even the slowest of the slow could follow the argument I repeated it twice. But there is always going to be one who still doesn't follow - congratulations.

[jayboy]

10 hours ago, Neeranam said:

It really isn't a problem. 

 

Please don't post patently untrue statements like this.It is a massive problem for many hundreds of British expatriates.You know some expatriates who have been fortunate enough to get vaccinated.So do I.It doesn't alter the fact there is a massive problem which it is impossible to ignore.

[bojo]

9 minutes ago, jayboy said:

 

Please don't post patently untrue statements like this.It is a massive problem for many hundreds of British expatriates.You know some expatriates who have been fortunate enough to get vaccinated.So do I.It doesn't alter the fact there is a massive problem which it is impossible to ignore.

It's subjective really..................to some, it's not a problem depending on their view of the whole covid situation and to others, being vaccinated mean 'the whole world'..........Me, personally, if I was currently living in Thailand, I wouldn't be expecting anything, my expectations would be low, but that's purely based on my experience of being let down or hoodwinked many times in the Kingdom, so I'm kinda numb............But I sure as hell would be doing everything in my power to get jabbed myself and wouldn't be relying on any third party to fix my problem, let alone expecting any embassy to sort my life out.................

[jayboy]

7 minutes ago, bojo said:

It's subjective really..................to some, it's not a problem depending on their view of the whole covid situation and to others, being vaccinated mean 'the whole world'..........Me, personally, if I was currently living in Thailand, I wouldn't be expecting anything, my expectations would be low, but that's purely based on my experience of being let down or hoodwinked many times in the Kingdom, so I'm kinda numb............But I sure as hell would be doing everything in my power to get jabbed myself and wouldn't be relying on any third party to fix my problem, let alone expecting any embassy to sort my life out.................

 

The problems in obtaining vaccination protection are not subjective for thousand of expatriates in Thailand, not just Brits. They are real.

 

Spare us your pointless musings from a country where there are no issues in obtaining protection from Covid 19.

 

Nobody expects the Embassy to sort their lives out.

[bojo]

5 minutes ago, jayboy said:

Spare us your pointless musings

Bit below the belt..................................