U.S. embassy in Thailand rejects citizens' appeal for vaccines

[mlmcleod]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The embassy in a message to its citizens in Thailand said the state department could not provide vaccines to the millions of Americans abroad, but would advocate for equitable access locally.

but didn't they announce recently that they were helping Thailand with a $30 million dollar grant?  They could have earmarked some of it for the Thai government to vaccinate US citizens.  That way there would be no need for involvement.

[metisdead]

Some troll posts have been removed. 

[PB172111]

18 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Didn't take long for the first "if you don't like it here, go elsewhere" post of the day. Cheeze, some people.

The problem is, as with your post, very few listen.

 

[mtls2005]

3 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Maybe the old man's on leave, then the acting head of post would be the charge d'affaires.

 

Previous ambassador offered his resignation with the recent change in administrations as is custom. And as he was a politcial appointee, his was accepted.

 

A new ambassador is yet to be nominated, let alone approved.

 

Hence we have an Acting Manager.

 

 

[WaveHunter]

5 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

That is not correct at all. And especially in the UK.

Well, it certainly seems to be the case that foreigners in Thailand are largely being ignored, and since we live in Thailand, I really don't care what happens in the UK, only here in Thailand.

 

In Thailand it's hard to believe the policy is not "Thais first", when the policy should actually be "Those most at risk of becoming infected and spreading the virus get vaccinated first, regardless of nationality.

[John Drake]

8 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Hence we have an Acting Manager.

 

And likely someone with zero influence or incentive to push things back in the US that go against established policy. I would say a lickspittle. But that would probably be unfair.

[mogandave]

5 hours ago, wmccpa112253 said:

Especially considering that we as US citizens are required by law to file US tax returns and to file other forms with the US government declaring foreign bank accounts and to pay US taxes on Worldwide income.

 

Yes, we are required to file, but unless you earn  pretty decent money in Thailand, you are not paying anything to the US government for income taxes. 

 

Yes, you have to declare your foreign bank account. This is an attempt to reduce money laundering and tax evaders, do you not support these efforts?

[Scouse123]

1 minute ago, WaveHunter said:

Well, it certainly seems to be the case that foreigners in Thailand are largely being ignored, and since we live in Thailand, I really don't care what happens in the UK, only here in Thailand.

 

In Thailand it's hard to believe the policy is not "Thais first", when the policy should actually be "Those most at risk of becoming infected and spreading the virus get vaccinated first, regardless of nationality.

 

You will get no argument from me and I agree with everything in your post completely.

 

My answer to a previous post was this was not happening in the UK and other countries, and the post had implied it was happening in all countries, their own citizens first, which simply isn't true. I agree, too many reports are stating they have been refused simply for ' being a western foreigner ' in Thailand, which has to be believed because there are too many foreigners saying it, from too many provinces.

 

The UK stated that they were not on a "fishing expedition for illegals" as the policy in the UK and many other good countries is ' We are not safe, until we are all safe ' and I completely support that.

 

The aim was the very elderly and those with pre existing respiratory conditions plus a further list of vulnerable people and then it went down by age.

 

I hope that clarifies.

 

Incidentally, I have been one of the lucky ones and had my first AZ jab already.

 

I do have visible respiratory problems for all to see and a pre existing illness and I do fall into the highly vulnerable category.

 

I was tenacious though, as initially I was given, or they attempted  to give me, the runaround.

[brucegoniners]

They'll collect our tax dollars anywhere in the world, but when it comes to something like this we get the shaft.

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

incredible amount here of pointless moaning......try accepting reality

clearly your western nanny state/embassy wont help

so get it outside thailand or wait for it here by govt or private hospital

WP Foreigners, in Bangkok & Phuket at least, have already got their 2nd jab full vax

Non- WP in same locations are starting 1st AZ tomorrow

Moderna coming here Oct via private hospitals

if you decided to live “up country” you accept reduced services all round.....

 

[John Drake]

1 minute ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

incredible amount here of pointless moaning.

 

Says the guy who is constantly complaining about everyone he says is complaining.

[mtls2005]

7 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

Says the guy who is constantly complaining about everyone he says is complaining.

 

Yeah, some of these Doofii don't do irony.

 

 

[mogandave]

I think it a safe bet that at least 90% of the “taxpayers” complaining on this board pay no federal income tax to the US government. 

 

Probably 99%…

[Redline]

17 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Phuket Expats now getting vaxed with AZ.

other tourist regions like Bangkok to follow soon surely.......

Got mine 10 days ago

[Artisi]

17 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

The only disturbing news I am getting from friends in Bangkok is that they are coming up against a wall of " Thais first " which I find ridiculous.

If that is the case it is because of the trickle down effect of xenophobic and nationalistic verbal assaults on TV from certain people in government.

It needs reporting to Embassies if this is the case, as this will be taken very seriously and passed on up the chain to Western leaders, who are supplying South East Asia with technology,  science and surplus vaccines.

Yep, that will surely work, all the Embassies are waiting for your immediate contact...... 

[WaveHunter]

49 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

You will get no argument from me and I agree with everything in your post completely.

 

My answer to a previous post was this was not happening in the UK and other countries, and the post had implied it was happening in all countries, their own citizens first, which simply isn't true. I agree, too many reports are stating they have been refused simply for ' being a western foreigner ' in Thailand, which has to be believed because there are too many foreigners saying it, from too many provinces.

 

The UK stated that they were not on a "fishing expedition for illegals" as the policy in the UK and many other good countries is ' We are not safe, until we are all safe ' and I completely support that.

 

The aim was the very elderly and those with pre existing respiratory conditions plus a further list of vulnerable people and then it went down by age.

 

I hope that clarifies.

 

Incidentally, I have been one of the lucky ones and had my first AZ jab already.

 

I do have visible respiratory problems for all to see and a pre existing illness and I do fall into the highly vulnerable category.

 

I was tenacious though, as initially I was given, or they attempted  to give me, the runaround.

Sorry for jumping the gun and misinterpreting your post.  " We are not safe, until we are all safe " is an appropriate slogan and should be the guiding sentiment in every country in the entire world, yet it clearly is not in many countries, and it appears to not be the case here in Thailand.

 

It is completely illogical to discriminate on who is vaccinated first, according to nationality.  The virus does not recognize nationality.  The guiding criteria should be to vaccinate those individuals most like to become infected and thereby spread the virus to the population as a whole.  It has nothing to do with nationality; it only has to do with vaccinating the elderly or those with high risk illness first, and of course prioritizing hot spots as they emerge...it should ALL BE REGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY.

 

Even though the CCSA has provided much lip service claiming there is no discrimination towards foreigners in regard to the vaccination rollout, it seems that their actions betray their words.  For weeks, we have been provided with promises that are not kept regarding something as simple as registration! 

 

I mean, all that registration amounts to is being put on a waiting list and nothing more.  That should be an incredibly simple online procedure, and yet, they have gone through several iterations of an online registration scheme that have ALL FAILED MISERABLY, and the present InterVac & InterVac/expat sites have been essentially offline now for almost two weeks!

 

This can not simply be a matter of incompetence.  Something else is going on.  I'm not going to say what I think it is, but I think most of us know.

Edited June 24, 2021 by WaveHunter

[Emdog]

24 minutes ago, mogandave said:

I think it a safe bet that at least 90% of the “taxpayers” complaining on this board pay no federal income tax to the US government. 

 

Probably 99%…

Based on what? A hunch? Just went thru 5 pages of google search and can find nothing about how many Americans pay fed tax. I do know that all of my American friends pay fed income taxes, including myself. So show me some numbers Mr "Safe Bet". If you make a bet you have to show the outcome. 99% is insipid, but 90% also, but less so.

[aguy30]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

Yes, we are required to file, but unless you earn  pretty decent money in Thailand, you are not paying anything to the US government for income taxes. 

 

Yes, you have to declare your foreign bank account. This is an attempt to reduce money laundering and tax evaders, do you not support these efforts?

 

40 minutes ago, mogandave said:

I think it a safe bet that at least 90% of the “taxpayers” complaining on this board pay no federal income tax to the US government. 

 

Probably 99%…

Speak for your own desperate situations. I and people I know do pay taxes. We have investments, pensions and other income from the USA. I paid more than enough taxes to buy vaccines for you and everyone you know and likely ever knew.

Edited June 24, 2021 by aguy30

[Scouse123]

19 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Yep, that will surely work, all the Embassies are waiting for your immediate contact...... 

 

Well the British Ambassador when it was stated before in the news that Thais would be given ' priority ' over foreign nationals ' then  asked for clarification of the statement so that he could report back to the UK Government the policy in hand.

 

That statement was then quickly changed by the Thai government.

 

,So in the case of a pandemic, Yes, I do think the Embassies are taking it seriously and paying attention.

 

This isn't a lost passport we are talking about here.

[John Drake]

2 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

That statement was then quickly changed by the Thai government.

 

But the policy was  not changed, as I'm sure the ambassador knew would be the case all along. Our Western embassies, except for the French, are in on the lies.

[Misty]

4 minutes ago, aguy30 said:

 

Speak for your own desperate situations. I and people I know do pay taxes. We have investments, pensions and other income from the USA. I paid more than enough taxes to buy vaccines for you and everyone you know.

 

Agreed.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, Barry343 said:

All other countries are only vaccinating their own citizens first, if you are a non citizen you can still receive an injection if you are willing to pay for it. 

I would be very surprised if that were the case... illegals can go get jabbed in the UK, free.

The government says that the COVID-19 vaccines are accessible to everyone, including undocumented migrants, for free and without immigration checks. This is reflected in official guidance too.

[Scouse123]

44 minutes ago, mogandave said:

I think it a safe bet that at least 90% of the “taxpayers” complaining on this board pay no federal income tax to the US government. 

 

Probably 99%…

 

You are right about me, I pay nothing in taxes to the US government.

 

I'm British.

[KarenBravo]

2 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

Well, that's true.

 

Do you think that it's because illegal immigrants can infect other Americans whilst US expats can't.

Which group poses the greater threat to prolonging the pandemic?

[tyga]

So all these posters who say to go back to your country to get the vax, how does that make sense when it has a huge detrimental effect on CO2 emissions. Then there is the health issue of being on a long haul flight and the costs in time and money. Far better for govt to arrange to fly the vaccine here. I understand the individual situation is not dire yet but it is an emergency and they have the means to provide for their citizens well being in this case. The British ambassador's fireside chats last year about us all stranded in this crisis together ring hollow now him and his team are vaxxed and the rest of us are just being fobbed off with a new story every day. At best, we will probably be offered an ineffective jab that is not recognized in our home countries. 

[bkk7]

18 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Imagine every country in this world would supply vaccines to all their citizens which are in other countries in this world. That would be a lot of vaccines flying around the globe. And for what? Most (all?) countries work on the vaccination of all the people in their individual countries. It just takes some time.

 

As far as I see there is no foreigner in Thailand who didn't voluntarily come to Thailand, maybe except from prisoners. Many foreigners are in Thailand because they enjoy that Thailand is different from home. But then some complain that x and y and z is not like home. Make up your mind! What do you want? Thailand with all the good and all the bad? Or only those parts of Thailand which you like and otherwise your home country should take care of you. Really? 

 

gotta love the constant contrarian.

 

France and China are providing vaccines to their citizens. why not the US?

[bradiston]

1 hour ago, WaveHunter said:

Well, it certainly seems to be the case that foreigners in Thailand are largely being ignored, and since we live in Thailand, I really don't care what happens in the UK, only here in Thailand.

 

In Thailand it's hard to believe the policy is not "Thais first", when the policy should actually be "Those most at risk of becoming infected and spreading the virus get vaccinated first, regardless of nationality.

Actually, millions of Thais are also "being ignored", simply because there aren't enough shots to go around, which of course is another matter. We represent a very small fraction of the population of Thailand, maybe a few hundred thousand. When you think they've only vaccinated about 10 million out of a population of 66 million, you can see that really a huge number of people, 50 million plus, are waiting for shots. Probably proportionally, expats are doing quite well. Many teachers and other WP holders have received theirs. Those with Thai wives who managed to find a way, some pink carders, and those like myself who were lucky enough to get a slot based on age and comorbs. In Phayathai 2 the other day, I believe they jabbed over 1000, almost entirely foreigners. I was one of them. Just the luck of the draw.

[bradiston]

7 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

 

Do you think that it's because illegal immigrants can infect other Americans whilst US expats can't.

Which group poses the greater threat to prolonging the pandemic?

US expats, obviously!

[KarenBravo]

Just now, bradiston said:

US expats, obviously!

 

Bong!!!

Sorry, that is an incorrect answer, though thank you for playing.......

[bradiston]

16 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I would be very surprised if that were the case... illegals can go get jabbed in the UK, free.

The government says that the COVID-19 vaccines are accessible to everyone, including undocumented migrants, for free and without immigration checks. This is reflected in official guidance too.

Same here in Thailand. The government very sensibly, and commendably so, declared a truce on illegal workers in order for them to come forward, get registered, and get jabbed. It showed a canny understanding of where the priorities were. A jabbed, legit workforce, or thousands of potentially infected workers in hiding and unable to work.