Thailand renews COVID-19 vaccination drive for monks at risk

[snoop1130]

FILE PHOTO: A Buddhist monk receives coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination at a hospital in Bangkok, Thailand May 19, 2021. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand began a renewed drive to vaccinate Buddhist monks and other temple workers in Bangkok against the coronavirus on Friday, as the country battles its most deadly surge in infections since the pandemic began.

 

Officials said they planned to provide AstraZeneca vaccines to 221 temples in the Thai capital, before beginning distribution in other parts of the country.

 

"We have invited about 600 monks, undertakers, cooks and people who are located at the temples of Thonburi city area to get vaccinated," said Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang.

 

Thailand first began rolling out vaccines to Buddhist monks in May, building up protection to allow them to receive daily alms and perform spiritual duties. Thailand has an estimated 200,000 monks.

 

Bangkok is the epicentre of a recent wave of new infections in Thailand, driven by the Delta variant of the virus.

 

A sluggish vaccine roll-out, which has led to huge crowds queuing up day after day in some places for COVID tests and inoculations, has led to public criticism of the government's handling of the crisis.

 

Just 5.6% of the country's 66 million population has been fully vaccinated. It has reported around 560,000 COVID-19 infections and 4,500 deaths.

 

Thailand on Friday issued an emergency decree banning the dissemination of "false messages" that affect security, drawing criticism from media groups.

 

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said earlier this week the spread of fake news was causing confusion and undermining the government's ability to manage the pandemic.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-07-30

 

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[Scrotobike]

The ability of the government to manage the pandemic is only limited by a lack of targeted vaccinations. Just follow the 2 step playbook

1. Vaccinate the old/sick not the young

2. See 1

[internationalism]

they are perfect examples of people, who are the least affected with covid danger, even if with underlying conditions - they have private rooms and large temple ground for exercising, they don't have to go to work/use public transport, they have food without need for shopping. And large temple funds coming the the government for their wifi, smartphones, cigarettes.

They also have special prayers to ward against covido and hivivo

[Misterwhisper]

I am a little surprised these monks need to be vaccinated at all.

 

Why don't they just wear some of their allegedly oh so effective panacea amulets?

You know, these cheaply produced, kitschy pendants which they peddle to their worshippers at inflated prices, claiming they'd protect against practically every malady imaginable, from car accidents to gunshot wounds to severe illness and anything in between.

[Burma Bill]

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Officials said they planned to provide AstraZeneca vaccines to 221 temples in the Thai capital, before beginning distribution in other parts of the country.

Why not Sinovac or Sinopharm??????

[bangon04]

Obesity is a major risk factor as complication for Covid infection....

 

https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-03-15/thailands-monks-are-so-fat-they-need-wear-special-girdles    et al