Phuket ready for July reopening as 62% population vaccinated

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, clivebaxter said:

Nobody ever claimed any vaccine stops you contracting the virus

But Phuket/Pattaya have a notion it might.

[hotchilli]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Accommodation sites where 70% of staff members have been vaccinated are able to apply for the Amazing Thailand Safety Health Administration Plus (SHA+) certification,

Hot from KS road.

[dlclark97]

Wow, 62% vaccinated but many with only the first shot that is just over 50% effective.  That leaves more than 1/3 (38%) of the local residents unvaccinated and many of those only 1/2 vaccinated.  Statistics have shown that many people worldwide who have been fully vaccinated and completed the 14 days needed to develop full immunity are still catching the virus.  Tourists worldwide MAY begin to return after the entire population of Thailand is fully vaccinated with the most effective vaccines available and having waited the extra 14 days for full immunity to develop.  While I agree getting the country reopened for tourism and other things that will improve local economies the current emphasis needs to be on getting everyone fully vaccinated with the most effective vaccines available, not the untimely reopening for tourists to come.  Until Thailand is virtually free of COVID and the entire population is fully vaccinated I would not be holding my breath waiting for many thousands of tourists to arrive.   

[simon43]

33 minutes ago, Farang99 said:

Phuket’s vice governor Pichet Panapong, said today the province’s vaccine rollout covers Phuket residents, the non-registered population, and foreign workers.

 

Note the absence  of foreign retirees

Oh - they can't get Covid-19... ????

[skytrooper70]

So, even a Phuket home/condo owner will have to register at a SHA Plus (minimum 70% of staff vaxxed) and expose oneself to possibly C-19 infected/asymptomatic other hotel guests or hotel staff (that is, the 30% not yet vaxxed or is this group not allowed to come to work).

[crazykopite]

One dose does not cover Covid so they are no near ready for tourism the whole thing is an absolute farce

[LivinLOS]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

According to a set of data from the Department of Disease Control, published by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), 339,773 people in Phuket or around 62.05% of the local population have already received the first jabs of COVID-19 vaccine, with 165,031 people or 30.14% the population fully vaccinated with both doses. The province must fully vaccinate another 218,277 people to achieve the 70% of population threshold.

 

Mixing and matching one and 2 shot totals... 

[LivinLOS]

9 minutes ago, skytrooper70 said:

So, even a Phuket home/condo owner will have to register at a SHA Plus (minimum 70% of staff vaxxed) and expose oneself to possibly C-19 infected/asymptomatic other hotel guests or hotel staff (that is, the 30% not yet vaxxed or is this group not allowed to come to work).

 

They have made it clear this is for tourists and tourism, not as a way for residents to sidestep ASQ.. Theres even rumor / rumblings in the last 24h that Thais and residents will be denied the sandbox route at all (sounds unlikely but thats being fought over). 

[LivinLOS]

13 hours ago, blorg said:

Yeah, that one seems to have been redefined severely.

 

Originally you would have thought 70% vaccinated meant, they had both had their two jabs and the required period after the second one to develop immunity.

 

Then it was pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen, so having two jabs, OK.

 

But redefining it as having had only one jab is not "vaccinated". Particularly not if the 1st jab is Sinovac, which really needs the second dose to be effective, it is not half as bad as people make out after the second dose but it it has particularly poor efficacy from the first dose.

 

The article does still seem to suggest that "The province must fully vaccinate another 218,277 people to achieve the 70% of population threshold." but I don't see how that can happen in the two weeks remaining.

 

Logically, if only 62% have even the first dose yet, and there is a minimum of two weeks between doses (and that's a very short window, as has been found in trials a longer gap is much more effective), it is simply impossible for 70% to be "fully vaccinated" by the end of the month.

Many of us said this from the start.. 

First it was 70% of the population 'fully vaccinated'.. All press up to end of May was talking 465k shots needed times 2 for a total of 930k shots required.. 

Then someone bothered to explain the AZ 12 week between shots and it quietly became one shot.. 

Then it became 70% of the 'required' population.. Yesterday some official started out with the magic calculator and proclaimed that because 80% of the 70% was vaccinated they had reached the target.. I think even Thais laughed that one down.. 

Now 12 days to go and still at 60% of a halved and reduced target and an unknown vaccine delivery schedule... Of course June 30th the numbers will be juggled in whatever way it takes to claim face saving victory.

It will be a fraction of the 930k doses initially said, just like so many of us initially said. 

[PEE TEE]

The concoction of these posts is amazing as is it all complete hogwash. So again according to to this there was loads of vaccine but only for Phuket. where as the capital of the country claims to have run out shutting down over 25 vaccine sites. 

Sinovac has been in the news as pretty useless where a very large percent of fully vaccinated people are  getting infected in most countries where its used. 

Do they really think people/ family's will come with all the requirements including wearing tracking bracelets. I don't think so those who do come will use it for a back door to get back to love ones property's etc..    

They have these big dreams of millions of tourists coming to spend MONEY (main point) i cannot see it happing and getting really fed up with all this B.S. 

Get Real please 

[LivinLOS]

4 hours ago, shdmn said:

So lets see.  First the serial whiners said Thais can't do anything right and it will never happen.  Then when that turned out wrong they said that they can't get enough vaccine to pull it off.  Now that it looks like they are going to succeed the new hotness among the serial whiners is that it's going to become a dystopian disaster with zombies eating brains?  is that about right.

Those of us who claimed they couldnt hit the initially announced targets have been proved 100% correct.. 

Moving the target down to what they have achieved is not the same !! 

[hioctane]

13 hours ago, blorg said:

Yeah, that one seems to have been redefined severely.

 

Originally you would have thought 70% vaccinated meant, they had both had their two jabs and the required period after the second one to develop immunity.

 

Then it was pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen, so having two jabs, OK.

 

But redefining it as having had only one jab is not "vaccinated". Particularly not if the 1st jab is Sinovac, which really needs the second dose to be effective, it is not half as bad as people make out after the second dose but it it has particularly poor efficacy from the first dose.

 

The article does still seem to suggest that "The province must fully vaccinate another 218,277 people to achieve the 70% of population threshold." but I don't see how that can happen in the two weeks remaining.

 

Logically, if only 62% have even the first dose yet, and there is a minimum of two weeks between doses (and that's a very short window, as has been found in trials a longer gap is much more effective), it is simply impossible for 70% to be "fully vaccinated" by the end of the month.

The goal is 70% with at least one dose.

 

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

With Chinese gunk as low as 3% efficacy on 1 dose, let the pandemic explosion begin.

 

I want to get back asap, but this is daft

Why would you worry if you are fully vaccinated? I am travelling to places with high Covid now with peace of mind. Thailand isn’t even remotely close to worrisome for me.

[hioctane]

7 minutes ago, PEE TEE said:

The concoction of these posts is amazing as is it all complete hogwash. So again according to to this there was loads of vaccine but only for Phuket. where as the capital of the country claims to have run out shutting down over 25 vaccine sites. 

Sinovac has been in the news as pretty useless where a very large percent of fully vaccinated people are  getting infected in most countries where its used. 

Do they really think people/ family's will come with all the requirements including wearing tracking bracelets. I don't think so those who do come will use it for a back door to get back to love ones property's etc..    

They have these big dreams of millions of tourists coming to spend MONEY (main point) i cannot see it happing and getting really fed up with all this B.S. 

Get Real please 

 

It is not exactly useless. ANY approved vaccine will reduce symptoms if infected and the need to be hospitalized and dying. It will also reduce the spread significantly. This will all be beneficial in the long run.

[PEE TEE]

5 minutes ago, hioctane said:

 

It is not exactly useless. ANY approved vaccine will reduce symptoms if infected and the need to be hospitalized and dying. It will also reduce the spread significantly. This will all be beneficial in the long run.

Are you 100% sure about that ?

[PEE TEE]

2 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Amazing how you take a quote from the poster "Alarming and possibly disastrous......" in his reply to the possible effects of the delta variant on Thailand and then change it to a completely unrelated rant about zombies eating brains.

 

The fact is that the delta variant is dangerous and playing down the risk as you are is dangerous.

The delta variant will not be that last it will go on to others sadly making vaccines dormant 

[Bangkok Barry]

Hands up who would fly halfway around the world to be tagged and told where they can and can't go, while being told they definitely can't have a glass of beer or wine with their dinner and that a ban on even going to the beach could be re-imposed at any time.

 

I was on a Zoom call with some friends in the UK last night and told them about the tagging and they thought I was joking. When I said it was real they laughed. Only a government with its background could think that tagging people to keep track of them is perfectly normal and acceptable. Any other country in the world tried that, hmm?

 

And, by the way, what is to stop anyone removing the tag? I suppose then the Covid police will be out looking for any foreigners without one, then arrest them to generate more shooting in the foot and headlines around the world.

I've thought for some time, even before the pandemic, that the present government has an agenda to kill off the tourism industry. I have no idea why that should be so, but over and over and over again they say things and do things that suggest it is their policy. I can only assume they are looking, in the long term, to make Thailand for the Thais with no others welcome. Other countries have done so in the past, including their best friend China.

 

[alien365]

Phuket will open come rain or shine. I'm just waiting for the foreigners to get the blame of spreading the virus to cover the government's inability to vaccinate the Phuket population with two doses of a decent vaccine. 

[sathornlover]

13 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Slightly off topic, a news report 15 minutes ago on CNA stated that hundreds of Indonesian medical staff in different areas are testing positive for CV19 after all been vaccinated with Sinovac ( the popular vaccine for Indonesia and Thailand).   

 

Another warning example for those "responsible" in Thailand should be Chile.

There, too, Sinovac is predominantly vaccinated, but some experts speak of a "leaky vaccine“!

 

‘Leaky’ Vaccines Can Produce Stronger Versions of Viruses

 

„Chilean health authorities announced a blanket lockdown across the capital Santiago on Thursday following some of the worst COVID-19 case numbers since the pandemic began, despite having fully vaccinated more than half its population. …

 

… Chile has one of the world's highest vaccination rates. Around 75% of its 15 million target population have already received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly 58% are completely inoculated. On a per capita basis among larger countries, it the vaccination leader in the Americas and the fifth highest worldwide, according to Reuters data.

It has used nearly 23 million vaccines doses so far - 17.2 million of Sinovac's, 4.6 million of Pfizer/BioNTech's, and less than 1 million each of AstraZeneca’s“ …

 

Reuters, 11 June 2021:

Chile shuts capital Santiago once more as vaccines fail to quell rampant cases

[BestB]

14 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Going to poke a few holes in that statement.

Phuket is Not ready, nor is anywhere else in the country.

Quarantine free? Yeah, can't leave for 14 days, movements monitored like a criminal, despite having been vaccinated. Plague carrying locals have zero restrictions meantime.

Tourism? Well, most go on holiday to chill out and have a good time. No bars, no beer or wine with dinner? A myriad of rules to follow.

The first international news story to break of a tourist being nailed for stupid money, or worse, jail, for some technical infringement, what very limited numbers trickling in will stop straight away and it will take years more to repair that damage.

Phuket, I repeat, is not ready and it really needs to rethink its attitude to those dollar wielding visitors if it ever expects to see them again when the time is right.

Standby to hear about some major incident when arriving tourist presented with a tracking wristband and told to have it on 24/7.

 

do not know why, but I see someone loosing their plot and see even more throwing it away 

[dallen52]

BANGKOK (NNT) - Phuket province is now ready to go ahead with the Phuket Sandbox reopening to limited quarantine-free tourism for fully vaccinated international visitors. The province’s vaccine rollout is gaining speed with some 62% of the local population now having received at least one dose.

 

What gets me is the illusion that people will clamour to get back here...

 

Need 2 shots of a reputable vaccine.

Need pre flight test.

Need arrival test.

Need to have tracking bracelet fitted.

Have to remain in the locality 14 days.

So many places still not open.

 

The list goes on.

 

It's called living the dream, Thai style.

 

[dallen52]

23 minutes ago, alien365 said:

Phuket will open come rain or shine. I'm just waiting for the foreigners to get the blame of spreading the virus to cover the government's inability to vaccinate the Phuket population with two doses of a decent vaccine. 

Pretty sure that one shot of a say around 50% effective vaccine, equates to about 25%.

because they are not going to give the second for maybe 16 weeks now.

[dallen52]

59 minutes ago, hioctane said:

The goal is 70% with at least one dose.

 

Why would you worry if you are fully vaccinated? I am travelling to places with high Covid now with peace of mind. Thailand isn’t even remotely close to worrisome for me.

Exactly.

I shot back to the Uk and had 2x Pfizer vaccines.

Mainly because hardly anyone is being vaccinated around Buriram.

Even though it's a prosecutable offence now.

Wasn't cheap.

But neither is a funeral.

[IamNoone88]

15 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Going to poke a few holes in that statement.

Phuket is Not ready, nor is anywhere else in the country.

Quarantine free? Yeah, can't leave for 14 days, movements monitored like a criminal, despite having been vaccinated. Plague carrying locals have zero restrictions meantime.

Tourism? Well, most go on holiday to chill out and have a good time. No bars, no beer or wine with dinner? A myriad of rules to follow.

The first international news story to break of a tourist being nailed for stupid money, or worse, jail, for some technical infringement, what very limited numbers trickling in will stop straight away and it will take years more to repair that damage.

Phuket, I repeat, is not ready and it really needs to rethink its attitude to those dollar wielding visitors if it ever expects to see them again when the time is right.

Agreed. The Hotel Association is behind this drive to open and Phuket/Thailand is not ready.

[Guderian]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

with some 62% of the local population now having received at least one dose.

 

A question for the Phuket expats on here: how many of you have received one dose of a vaccine, or does "62% of the local population" really mean "62% of the local Thai population"? 

[BestB]

17 minutes ago, dallen52 said:

BANGKOK (NNT) - Phuket province is now ready to go ahead with the Phuket Sandbox reopening to limited quarantine-free tourism for fully vaccinated international visitors. The province’s vaccine rollout is gaining speed with some 62% of the local population now having received at least one dose.

 

What gets me is the illusion that people will clamour to get back here...

 

Need 2 shots of a reputable vaccine.

Need pre flight test.

Need arrival test.

Need to have tracking bracelet fitted.

Have to remain in the locality 14 days.

So many places still not open.

 

The list goes on.

 

It's called living the dream, Thai style.

 

You forgot 14 days in a government approved hotel, ie ASQ ie expansive hotels only 

[BernieOnTour]

15 hours ago, blorg said:

Particularly not if the 1st jab is Sinovac, which really needs the second dose to be effective, it is not half as bad as people make out after the second dose but it it has particularly poor efficacy from the first dose.

 

That‘s interesting !

 

You seems to have access to the SinoVac Phase 3 studies and supporting scientific studies.

 

I have been looking for some pointers to the scientific papers since weeks to no avail.

 

... I am keen to learn more about SinoVac:

because it is a traditional vaccine with inactivated complete antigens, a proven technique since more than 100 years,

without the brand new RNA technology using only the Spike proteins.

 

Could you please share the links with us ?

[Darkside Gray]

15 hours ago, blorg said:

Yeah, that one seems to have been redefined severely.

 

Originally you would have thought 70% vaccinated meant, they had both had their two jabs and the required period after the second one to develop immunity.

 

Then it was pretty obvious that wasn't going to happen, so having two jabs, OK.

 

But redefining it as having had only one jab is not "vaccinated". Particularly not if the 1st jab is Sinovac, which really needs the second dose to be effective, it is not half as bad as people make out after the second dose but it it has particularly poor efficacy from the first dose.

 

The article does still seem to suggest that "The province must fully vaccinate another 218,277 people to achieve the 70% of population threshold." but I don't see how that can happen in the two weeks remaining.

 

Logically, if only 62% have even the first dose yet, and there is a minimum of two weeks between doses (and that's a very short window, as has been found in trials a longer gap is much more effective), it is simply impossible for 70% to be "fully vaccinated" by the end of the month.

No herd immunity then, pointless to open!

[bolt]

49 minutes ago, BestB said:

You forgot 14 days in a government approved hotel, ie ASQ ie expansive hotels only 

thats simply not true, you can get rooms at SHA+ for 600 thb per night

[CANSIAM]

1 hour ago, sathornlover said:

 

Another warning example for those "responsible" in Thailand should be Chile.

There, too, Sinovac is predominantly vaccinated, but some experts speak of a "leaky vaccine“!

 

‘Leaky’ Vaccines Can Produce Stronger Versions of Viruses

 

„Chilean health authorities announced a blanket lockdown across the capital Santiago on Thursday following some of the worst COVID-19 case numbers since the pandemic began, despite having fully vaccinated more than half its population. …

 

… Chile has one of the world's highest vaccination rates. Around 75% of its 15 million target population have already received at least one dose of vaccine, and nearly 58% are completely inoculated. On a per capita basis among larger countries, it the vaccination leader in the Americas and the fifth highest worldwide, according to Reuters data.

It has used nearly 23 million vaccines doses so far - 17.2 million of Sinovac's, 4.6 million of Pfizer/BioNTech's, and less than 1 million each of AstraZeneca’s“ …

 

Reuters, 11 June 2021:

Chile shuts capital Santiago once more as vaccines fail to quell rampant cases

Again, Alarming.......

[malthebluff]

So in reality.phuket is no safer then anywhere as 1 jab of vaccine dosnt give you the immunity.and tourist with 2 jabs and 3 covid tests plus paying for 14 nights hotels are going to flock.there and then if just a holiday will have to do 3 more covid test plus 10 days isolation in their own country. Wake up Thailand