United States to donate COVID-19 vaccine to Thailand

[John Drake]

6 minutes ago, placeholder said:

An Ambassador can advocate but he can't take independent action. He is there to execute the policy of the United States. And to advise the higher-ups in the State Dept. That's hardly being a dummy. Once again, direct your discontent to where it belongs: the Sec. of State or the President.

Don't tell me or anybody else on this board with whom and where to register their disgust. You are not the God-Dictator of the State Department. 

[vinci]

our US ambassador is a dead-beat

[placeholder]

4 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Don't tell me or anybody else on this board with whom and where to register their disgust. You are not the God-Dictator of the State Department. 

.,

Edited July 8, 2021 by placeholder

[John Drake]

Just now, placeholder said:

You found me out. Please don't tell anyone else that I'm not the God-dictator of the State Dept. It's been a great gig.

Your "humor" is as lame and adolescent as your "advice," which probably explains the strangled sentences and stiff arguments.

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, vinci said:

our US ambassador is a dead-beat

It's even worse than you think. Not only is that so-and-so a dead beat, that personage is also non-existent. Currently, there is no US Ambassador to Thailand.

[placeholder]

6 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Your "humor" is as lame and adolescent as your "advice," which probably explains the strangled sentences and stiff arguments.

Anyway, as a generous and benevolent God-dictator, not only do I forgive you your disrespect, but I grant you permission to pester the Ambassador all you like. But please don't criticize the Ambassador for being non-existent. Apparently, that's a sore point.

Edited July 8, 2021 by placeholder

[Mavideol]

18 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Looks like the US has dumped a serious amount of coin into Thailand to assist them, and then you have to wonder where the hell has it all gone along with the donated medical equipment.  The below is clipped from the link in the OP.

 

"According to the embassy, to date, the U.S. government has provided over $40 million (1.28 billion baht) in COVID-19-related assistance to Thailand, which includes $28.5 million in ventilators, respirators, testing kits, surgical masks, goggles and other protective equipment to Thai doctors and nurses, and support for displaced people along the border. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided $13 million in COVID-19-related assistance to the Thai public health ministry"

and yet Prayut pledged allegiance to Xi.... what a no face guy he's   555 (i know it's not a surprise but had to say it)

[placnx]

2 hours ago, placeholder said:

You think it was in the Embassy's power to get more vaccine? You think the State Dept didn't arrange to allot vaccines to its workers based on the total number of people in its workforce? The Embassy is just a branch office of the State Dept. It doesn't set policy.

In regard to vaccine availability State has to ask HHS for vaccine, so why do US senators send a letter to Blinkin' rather than to those who actually control the supply of vaccines? 

[placnx]

2 hours ago, John Drake said:

Ridiculous. The entire idea of having an ambassador is to have someone in place, on the ground, who can advocate for the proper action. Not some stiff dummy, waiting to take orders.

The former ambassador put quite a good op-ed in the Wall Street Journal to plead the case for expats. Maybe he should have tried the Washington Post.

[club]

9 minutes ago, placnx said:

In regard to vaccine availability State has to ask HHS for vaccine, so why do US senators send a letter to Blinkin' rather than to those who actually control the supply of vaccines? 

Because Blinkin is in charge of the State department. He should be the one asking HHS about vaccines going to other countries 

Edited July 8, 2021 by club

[placnx]

41 minutes ago, club said:

Because Blinkin is in charge of the State department. He should be the one asking HHS about vaccines going to other countries 

Senators should ask the White House to help us expats. Blinkin' just follows orders as to allocation, cannot dictate to HHS. If he were ordered to deal with governments via his embassies about vaccinating US expats, something might happen at the local level.

Edited July 8, 2021 by placnx
mention White House

[Tony125]

6 hours ago, JKfarang said:

Yesterday afternoon, after Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin shut down their registration for Moderna within 5 minutes of opening, I sent a lengthy email to the US Embassy in BKK.  In it I asked if US citizens would receive any priority with the Pfizer donation from our gov’t and even offered to pay a fair price for 2 doses.  Unfortunately, I was unimpressed with their response.

Below is their response followed by my reply back to them.  Fortunately, they chose not to send me another email since I was prepared to rip them a new one.
____________________________________________________________
We do not have any other information to provide. Private Hospitals say that they will offer U.S. vaccines, but the earliest we have heard is October. It is no guarantee which vaccine you will receive from the Thai authorities.
 Sincerely,
 American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok
____________________________________________________________
I appreciate the prompt reply but am also very disappointed.  Since private and public hospitals here in Hua Hin will not even allow me to register for future inoculations due to limited or non-existent supplies how can I ever expect to receive the vaccine?  Unfortunately, the Thai government and hospitals here say many things.  Few of which are actually true as I am sure by now you are fully aware.  Hopefully, I will see no more stories about the US donating vaccines to Thailand when, in my opinion, US citizens in Thailand should be at the top of the list of recipients.

 

Really no sense in emailing the US Embassy they have no influence in Thailand and don't make policy just follow orders from home. Contact your Senators and Congreesman back in USA.  You can do that even if you don't  have a physical presence in the US anymore.    Many expats did that and I think is the reason why 25 Senators asked Biden what was he going to do about US Expats overseas who had no axcess to vaccines. How would the 25 even know about the situation if the expats didn't inform them? Information below

 

Citizens Residing Outside the U.S.

What is a voting residence and why is it important?
You need a voting residence to vote by absentee ballot — even if you are only voting for federal offices. Your election office needs your exact voting residence address to determine which offices and candidates you are eligible to vote for — and to send you the appropriate ballot for your voting precinct.

Your voting residence is your address in the state in which you were last domiciled, immediately prior to leaving the United States.

This residence may remain valid even if:

You no longer own property or have other ties to that state.
Your intent to return to that state is uncertain.
Your previous address is no longer a recognized residential address.
Voting in an election for federal offices often may not be used as the sole basis of determining residency for the purpose of imposing state and local taxes.

If you cannot remember the address where you last physically resided, check old tax records, passports, or family correspondence. Sometimes election offices can help identify your address if you were previously registered.

To claim a new legal residence or domicile, consult legal counsel as there may be other factors to consider, such as tax implications.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Tony125

[RocketDog]

6 hours ago, JKfarang said:

Yesterday afternoon, after Bangkok Hospital Hua Hin shut down their registration for Moderna within 5 minutes of opening, I sent a lengthy email to the US Embassy in BKK.  In it I asked if US citizens would receive any priority with the Pfizer donation from our gov’t and even offered to pay a fair price for 2 doses.  Unfortunately, I was unimpressed with their response.

Below is their response followed by my reply back to them.  Fortunately, they chose not to send me another email since I was prepared to rip them a new one.
____________________________________________________________
We do not have any other information to provide. Private Hospitals say that they will offer U.S. vaccines, but the earliest we have heard is October. It is no guarantee which vaccine you will receive from the Thai authorities.
 Sincerely,
 American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok
____________________________________________________________
I appreciate the prompt reply but am also very disappointed.  Since private and public hospitals here in Hua Hin will not even allow me to register for future inoculations due to limited or non-existent supplies how can I ever expect to receive the vaccine?  Unfortunately, the Thai government and hospitals here say many things.  Few of which are actually true as I am sure by now you are fully aware.  Hopefully, I will see no more stories about the US donating vaccines to Thailand when, in my opinion, US citizens in Thailand should be at the top of the list of recipients.

 

I applaud your efforts, truly.

As an American myself I saw the news and did not think for a microsecond that I would get any of it.

It is shameful that my tax dollars were spent on this largesse, even with the 20% stipulation for "foreigners" in Thailand, when American expats were not even mentioned.

 

Even if this requirement is honored, and it most certainly won't be, very few Americans will benefit. Specifically Chinese and French expats should not get any because their countries stepped up and did the right thing.

[placeholder]

8 hours ago, RocketDog said:

I applaud your efforts, truly.

As an American myself I saw the news and did not think for a microsecond that I would get any of it.

It is shameful that my tax dollars were spent on this largesse, even with the 20% stipulation for "foreigners" in Thailand, when American expats were not even mentioned.

 

Even if this requirement is honored, and it most certainly won't be, very few Americans will benefit. Specifically Chinese and French expats should not get any because their countries stepped up and did the right thing.

Doesn't it strike you as odd that up to now no official US govt. source has confirmed that 300000 doses are destined for expats? It could be that negotiations are ongoing, or it could be that this was just another bizarre claim from a member of the government.

[baboon]

On 7/7/2021 at 1:57 PM, Jingthing said:

Please attach one string  -- demand that Thailand stop discriminating against high risk expats here including Americans for access to vaccines. If they don’t then at least directly help high risk American expats here to get jabs ASAP just as France already did.

But dammit, why is your American government providing them with freebies anyway? They could easily fork out the cash if they really wanted and it isn't like they are a close ally of your country anyway, these days.

[Jingthing]

3 hours ago, baboon said:

But dammit, why is your American government providing them with freebies anyway? They could easily fork out the cash if they really wanted and it isn't like they are a close ally of your country anyway, these days.

Two reasons. 

 

The current administration is grounded in science and understands that to beat this pandemic most of the entire world needs to be vaccinated.

 

To try to improve the image of the USA which had been very badly damaged by the previous admistration. Public relations. 

 

Unfortunately demanding that American expats be helped as a condition of vaccine donations would weaken the public relations message.

[RocketDog]

8 hours ago, placeholder said:

Doesn't it strike you as odd that up to now no official US govt. source has confirmed that 300000 doses are destined for expats? It could be that negotiations are ongoing, or it could be that this was just another bizarre claim from a member of the government.

It is odd that the first news seemed to have a stipulation, but that issue has now faded from the conversation.

I can only speculate as to why. At this point it wouldn't matter if the stipulation was for all of it to go to farang, with 50% reserved for Americans. I have zero faith that the contract would be honors by PM.

 

It's now clear that we, Thai and farang,are all trapped in a situation with no way out. Little vaccine available, poor quality of what there is, nothing coming for months, new variants spreading, poor and incompetent government response.

 

It is what it is for the near future.

[placeholder]

8 minutes ago, RocketDog said:

It is odd that the first news seemed to have a stipulation, but that issue has now faded from the conversation.

I can only speculate as to why. At this point it wouldn't matter if the stipulation was for all of it to go to farang, with 50% reserved for Americans. I have zero faith that the contract would be honors by PM.

 

It's now clear that we, Thai and farang,are all trapped in a situation with no way out. Little vaccine available, poor quality of what there is, nothing coming for months, new variants spreading, poor and incompetent government response.

 

It is what it is for the near future.

Any evidence that French citizens resident in Thailand  over the age of 55 haven't been vaccinated in accordance with the agreement with the French govt? I think it would have been news had that been the case. I seriously doubt that Thailand would want to needlessly antagonize the US govt considering the important contribution that trade with the US makes to Thailand's economy.

[RocketDog]

11 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Any evidence that French citizens resident in Thailand  over the age of 55 haven't been vaccinated in accordance with the agreement with the French govt? I think it would have been news had that been the case. I seriously doubt that Thailand would want to needlessly antagonize the US govt considering the important contribution that trade with the US makes to Thailand's economy.

Your logic is unassailable. Except that the powers that be have little use for logic. I would like to believe as you do, but alas, the military junta has lost all credibility with me.

 

I can take care of myself and mine during this crisis, but my heart goes out to the vulnerable Thai nationals who are at the mercy of remorseless band of criminals. To expect any aid of any type from an uncaring government is a recipe for disappointment.

 

My French/English dual citizenship neighbor registered for the Thai vaccine and had an appointment two days ago. In the meantime the French embassy emailed him urging him to register for their J&J offering. He did both. He went in and the Thai vax site turned him away saying to come back next month as they were still fulfilling June appointments! He literally went up two floors in the hospital, easily found the French center, and was vaccinated and gone inside 30 minutes.

 

I understood I was choosing to live in a 3rd world country when I moved here and bought a house. I understand that Thailand cannot offer me all the conveniences (and misery) that America did, but not being able to buy decent tools is a far cry from dying of a virus when a good part of the world is being vaccinated with quality vaccines.

[placeholder]

1 minute ago, RocketDog said:

Your logic is unassailable. Except that the powers that be have little use for logic. I would like to believe as you do, but alas, the military junta has lost all credibility with me.

 

I can take care of myself and mine during this crisis, but my heart goes out to the vulnerable Thai nationals who are at the mercy of remorseless band of criminals. To expect any aid of any type from an uncaring government is a recipe for disappointment.

 

My French/English dual citizenship neighbor registered for the Thai vaccine and had an appointment two days ago. In the meantime the French embassy emailed him urging him to register for their J&J offering. He did both. He went in and the Thai vax site turned him away saying to come back next month as they were still fulfilling June appointments! He literally went up two floors in the hospital, easily found the French center, and was vaccinated and gone inside 30 minutes.

 

I understood I was choosing to live in a 3rd world country when I moved here and bought a house. I understand that Thailand cannot offer me all the conveniences (and misery) that America did, but not being able to buy decent tools is a far cry from dying of a virus when a good part of the world is being vaccinated with quality vaccines.

The takeaway from your anecdote about your neighbor is that the Thais are living up to their deal with the French.

[RocketDog]

13 minutes ago, placeholder said:

The takeaway from your anecdote about your neighbor is that the Thais are living up to their deal with the French.

Hmm, not quite. I'll get more details, but from his story I got the impression that the clinic was managed privately, with Thai employees, by the French Embassy, not the Thai government. Or maybe managed though a private arrangement with the State Hospital at embassy expense.

 

Anyway, I get your point. Maybe you are correct.

But hey, everybody makes mistakes, and maybe some government stooge overlooked the possibility of diverting the French vaccine to the Hi-so.

 

But still, the USA stipulation was 20% for foreigners, excluding no nationalities as far as I know.

 

So how far will 130,00 dual doses go among the 1+ million foreign nationals living here?

What are my odds of getting two doses! How much time will I spend with ineffective registrations?

What should I tell my Thai Lady who refuses Sinovac and was told by our the local government hospital that she will not get AZ?

 

Things may change over time, or at least I hope they do. But where we are today is not encouraging.

[placeholder]

Just now, RocketDog said:

Hmm, not quite. I'll get more details, but from his story I got the impression that the clinic was managed privately, with Thai employees, by the French Embassy, not the Thai government. Or maybe managed though a private arrangement with the State Hospital at embassy expense.

 

Anyway, I get your point. Maybe you are correct.

But hey, everybody makes mistakes, and maybe some government stooge overlooked the possibility of diverting the French vaccine to the Hi-so.

 

But still, the USA stipulation was 20% for foreigners, excluding no nationalities as far as I know.

 

So how far will 130,00 dual doses go among the 1+ million foreign nationals living here?

What are my odds of getting two doses! How much time will I spend with ineffective registrations?

What should I tell my Thai Lady who refuses Sinovac and was told by our the local government hospital that she will not get AZ?

 

Things may change over time, or at least I hope they do. But where we are today is not encouraging.

As I believe you've pointed it it's the alleged USA stipulation.

[placnx]

22 hours ago, Tony125 said:

Really no sense in emailing the US Embassy they have no influence in Thailand and don't make policy just follow orders from home. Contact your Senators and Congreesman back in USA.  You can do that even if you don't  have a physical presence in the US anymore.    Many expats did that and I think is the reason why 25 Senators asked Biden what was he going to do about US Expats overseas who had no axcess to vaccines. How would the 25 even know about the situation if the expats didn't inform them? Information below

 

Citizens Residing Outside the U.S.

What is a voting residence and why is it important?
You need a voting residence to vote by absentee ballot — even if you are only voting for federal offices. Your election office needs your exact voting residence address to determine which offices and candidates you are eligible to vote for — and to send you the appropriate ballot for your voting precinct.

Your voting residence is your address in the state in which you were last domiciled, immediately prior to leaving the United States.

This residence may remain valid even if:

You no longer own property or have other ties to that state.
Your intent to return to that state is uncertain.
Your previous address is no longer a recognized residential address.
Voting in an election for federal offices often may not be used as the sole basis of determining residency for the purpose of imposing state and local taxes.

If you cannot remember the address where you last physically resided, check old tax records, passports, or family correspondence. Sometimes election offices can help identify your address if you were previously registered.

To claim a new legal residence or domicile, consult legal counsel as there may be other factors to consider, such as tax implications.

Thanks for your excellent explanation on voting and relevant reps and senators. Just to clarify, the senators unfortunately sent their letter to Blinkin', not Biden. Blinkin' just follows orders from above.

[placnx]

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Two reasons. 

 

The current administration is grounded in science and understands that to beat this pandemic most of the entire world needs to be vaccinated.

 

To try to improve the image of the USA which had been very badly damaged by the previous admistration. Public relations. 

 

Unfortunately demanding that American expats be helped as a condition of vaccine donations would weaken the public relations message.

Since 500mn doses is not that much when 11bn are said to be needed, those doses will hardly be noticed when divided up between so many needy countries. There are people out there who advocate for an analogue to PEPFAR, the AIDS initiative started under George W Bush, and propose calling this PEPVAR. This would really make a difference for public health and derail Belt & Road at the same time. If that were started, nobady would care about expats getting vaccinated by their home countries in host country locations.

[RocketDog]

5 hours ago, placeholder said:

As I believe you've pointed it it's the alleged USA stipulation.

As you now know it's a moot point. You and I wasted perfectly good digital ink wagging our jaws.

 

How Thailand uses the vaccine is up to them now.

 

I'll stand by my telephone waiting for the Thai government calling me to make an appointment for a jab. And wait, and wait, and wait.........

We can be proud that our tax dollars made this largess possible for the Hi-So Thais.

[Mick60]

On 7/8/2021 at 11:16 AM, wasabi said:

My wife and I flew back to the USA on May 18th. We're both fully vaccinated for free and don't need to wear masks in most places now. Big relief vs when we were stuck in Thailand listening to Prime Minister Pinocchio pretend to have a clue.

A little off topic but would like to know if you had to go through all those procedures (Coe, covid insurance, quarantine etc.) to get back to Thailand. I'll probably have to do the same soon. Thanks 

[bill1369]

On 7/8/2021 at 11:19 AM, placeholder said:

You think it was in the Embassy's power to get more vaccine? You think the State Dept didn't arrange to allot vaccines to its workers based on the total number of people in its workforce? The Embassy is just a branch office of the State Dept. It doesn't set policy.

All you have said is State Dept, thru it's many Embassies, is worthless at taking care of American citizens!!

[placeholder]

42 minutes ago, bill1369 said:

All you have said is State Dept, thru it's many Embassies, is worthless at taking care of American citizens!!

No. What I said was you are blaming the embassy for not pursuing a policy it doesn't have the means or authority to execute.

[connda]

On 7/7/2021 at 5:38 PM, ThailandRyan said:

Looks like the US has dumped a serious amount of coin into Thailand to assist them, and then you have to wonder where the hell has it all gone along with the donated medical equipment.  The below is clipped from the link in the OP.

 

"According to the embassy, to date, the U.S. government has provided over $40 million (1.28 billion baht) in COVID-19-related assistance to Thailand, which includes $28.5 million in ventilators, respirators, testing kits, surgical masks, goggles and other protective equipment to Thai doctors and nurses, and support for displaced people along the border. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided $13 million in COVID-19-related assistance to the Thai public health ministry"

Some wealthy, connected Thais have just gotten wealthier.
 

[mtls2005]

Seeing more mentions (Thai websites) that:

 

150,000 of the 1.5 MM Pfizer donation from the U.S.A. will go to "foreigners", the exact definition of which remains elusive.

 

105,000 of the 1.05 MM AstraZeneca donation from Japan will go to "foreigners".

 

https://prachatai.com/english/node/9333