One million U.S. vaccine doses due in Malaysia on Monday

[Jonathan Fairfield]

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One million donated doses of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc's and BioNTech will arrive in Malaysia on Monday, White House officials said, with plans for more shipments to Southeast Asia soon.

 

The doses are from an initial batch of 80 million U.S.-made vaccines the Biden administration pledged last month to share globally amid concern about the disparity in vaccination rates between advanced and developing countries.

 

Washington has been competing with China to deepen geopolitical clout through so-called "vaccine diplomacy," although it says it is not sharing vaccines to secure favors or extract concessions, but to save lives and end the pandemic.

 

Edgard Kagan, senior director for East Asia at the White House National Security Council, told Reuters the United States was sharing "safe and effective vaccines" with Malaysia in a moment of need and "will be making further shipments to the region in the near future."

 

Another official said the United States was "working as fast as possible to deliver additional vaccines across Southeast Asia."

 

The United States has already announced plans to provide vaccines to the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Papua New Guinea, and Cambodia.

 

On Friday, it said it would ship 4 million doses of Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine to Indonesia as soon as possible via the COVAX global vaccine sharing program as that country battles a surge of cases.

 

As well as the 80 million-dose pledge, Washington has said it will purchase 500 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to distribute to the African Union and 92 low and lower middle-income countries.

 

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Jane Wardell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-07-04

[unblocktheplanet]

Vax diplomacy won't make us like them any better!

[Tracyb]

When will the USA send vaccine to Thailand for use by their citizens living here?  The French have done it.  The Chinese have done it.   What are we, chopped liver?

[Thomas J]

1 minute ago, Tracyb said:

When will the USA send vaccine to Thailand for use by their citizens living here?  The French have done it.  The Chinese have done it.   What are we, chopped liver?

Two things.  First I would expect that the Chinese and the French have a special relationship with Thailand.  Thailand is without question very dependent on China.  Thailand was also once part of French Indo-China so "maybe" some of those relationships still stand today. 

With respect to the USA.  It is but one country with expatriates here.  I would think the easy part is just shipping the vaccine.  Now you get to the tough part.  How to distribute it, what hospitals/clinics receive it, and how do you monitor that the vaccine will be directed specifically only to people with U.S. passports.  Finally, do you then do the same thing for Russia, Germany, the U.K., Italy, etc.  

I am not aware of the logistics that have been agreed upon for the French and Chinese.  I did read where China was "donating" 1 million doses with 400,000 to be earmarked for its citizens.  Now I wonder what happened to the 600,000 doses that were not earmarked.

I can't come up with  a plausible way that the various countries in the world could be sending vaccines to all the myriad of countries around the world and coordinate that those vaccines would be dedicated only to their expatriates.  Certainly in many countries any vaccines shipped run the likelihood that they would never reach their expatriates but rather be mysteriously missing. 

 

[connda]

In the meanwhile concerned US expats implore their government for help:

US Embassies via WH Press Sec. Jen Pkasi: 
"****-off sniveling expats.  Excess vaccines are for foreign countries and not for you!  You don't matter.  Now go away."
<tucks tail between legs and goes to end of vaccination line behind tramps, the homeless, and dogs>
 

[PETERTHEEATER]

Why is this not posted in the Malaysia section of the ASEAN Forum?

[IAMHERE]

Winning hearts and minds one shot at a time. I have to wonder if Malaysia wouldn't have bought the covid vaccine on their own initiative if USA hadn't bought 80 million doses it doesn't seem to need.. 

Edited July 4, 2021 by IAMHERE
clarity

[Tracyb]

22 hours ago, Thomas J said:

Two things.  First I would expect that the Chinese and the French have a special relationship with Thailand.  Thailand is without question very dependent on China.  Thailand was also once part of French Indo-China so "maybe" some of those relationships still stand today. 

With respect to the USA.  It is but one country with expatriates here.  I would think the easy part is just shipping the vaccine.  Now you get to the tough part.  How to distribute it, what hospitals/clinics receive it, and how do you monitor that the vaccine will be directed specifically only to people with U.S. passports.  

 

The French provided their vaccine to French citizens via the Bangkok Dust Medical services’ newtwork of Bangkok Hospitals throughout the country.  Here in Chiang Mai the BKK Hosp. Chiang Mai released alerts and advised French citizens to bring their passports and register for jabs.  They have since been administering the vaccine to French Nationals.

 

Thats one way to do it!

[Thomas J]

1 hour ago, Tracyb said:

The French provided their vaccine to French citizens via the Bangkok Dust Medical services’ newtwork of Bangkok Hospitals throughout the country.  Here in Chiang Mai the BKK Hosp. Chiang Mai released alerts and advised French citizens to bring their passports and register for jabs.  They have since been administering the vaccine to French Nationals.

 

Thats one way to do it!

That is fine if it is one country.  There are 275 countries in the world.  Lets say only 75 of the major countries decided to do the same as the French.  Does the Bangkok Dust Medical Services have then a vaccine storage facility in each of its locations capable of storing vaccines that are somehow labeled " For German Citizens Only"  " For U.K. Citizens Only"  " For "Russian Citizens Only"  

If anything was possible it would be for some organization like the Bangkok Dust Medical Group to have an account where the various nations of the world that wanted to participate reimbursed the Medical Group for any vaccines given to one of their citizens.   That solves the problem of getting paid but it does not address the larger problem of procuring the vaccines.  Perhaps if countries like France, Germany, the U.K. had shipments of vaccines intended for them, they could have the vaccine companies re-allocate a portion of those to Thailand.  That still would require the Thai government to get involved since the hospitals must procure the vaccine through them.  The idea of each sovereign nation sending physical supplies of vaccine ear marked for their citizens is just not workable.