Immunocompromised US teacher stuck in Thailand without access to vaccine

[webfact]

 

by Sean Mahoney

 

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Elisabeth Williamson, 63, has had a troubling 18 months. She battled breast cancer, completing treatment in 2019, but now has stumbled upon a new fight: Making it back home.

 

“There is no better hug than when you come off a plane after being away for a long time and you get to hug your family. And I’m missing that,” Williamson said.

 

Williamson went back to Thailand to resume the teaching job she had before being diagnosed with breast cancer. However, when the pandemic hit, travel restrictions kept her there. Eighteen months, the restrictions have eased up, but she does not have access to an FDA approved vaccine.

 

Sinovac, the shot offered in Thailand, has a 50% efficacy rate. With Williamson’s immune system being compromised due to cancer, this has made it almost impossible to come home.

 

“That’s what it means to me to be able to get a vaccine is to be able to come home safely,” Williamson said. “I would like to be able to come home and see my family in person and get a hug.”

 

Thailand’s COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed over the last few weeks. Thailand currently averages almost 21,000 cases per day, shattering records internationally.

 

Full story: https://fox28media.com/news/local/immunocompromised-sc-teacher-stuck-in-thailand-without-access-to-fda-vaccine

 

-- © Copyright FOX 28 2021-08-09

 

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[pegman]

Tons of people left Thailand the last 18 months but for some unexplained reason she couldn't? Not the full story here.

[bunnydrops]

13 minutes ago, pegman said:

Tons of people left Thailand the last 18 months but for some unexplained reason she couldn't? Not the full story here.

Agree, I left 6 weeks ago, no trouble at all.

[jerrymahoney]

It seems to me reading the article that, given her immuno-compromised condition, she does not want to travel unless she is fully vaccinated with US FDA approved vaccines.

 

From CDC website:

 

International Travel During COVID-19
Updated June 10, 2021
Do not travel internationally until you are fully vaccinated.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html

[Saddic]

10 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

It seems to me reading the article that, given her immuno-compromised condition, she does not want to travel unless she is fully vaccinated with US FDA approved vaccines.

 

From CDC website:

 

International Travel During COVID-19
Updated June 10, 2021
Do not travel internationally until you are fully vaccinated.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html

Then it's her choice... and she should stop blaming everybody around her and the country which has allowed her to be a guest... gods, another "karen" in the making...

 

btw: I left 3 days ago... zero problems...  Got my shot the same day I landed...

[smedly]

she wants an effective vaccine and can't get it in Thailand up to now as a foreigner - nothing new is it

[jerrymahoney]

People with Certain Medical Conditions
Updated May 13, 2021

 

Cancer
Having cancer can make you more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. Treatments for many types of cancer can weaken your body’s ability to fight off disease.  At this time, based on available studies, having a history of cancer may increase your risk.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

 

She has a case to make but, so far, according to the article, it hasn't gotten her anywhere.

Edited August 8, 2021 by jerrymahoney

[tonray]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Sinovac, the shot offered in Thailand, has a 50% efficacy rate. With Williamson’s immune system being compromised due to cancer, this has made it almost impossible to come home.

Since she is over 60 she can get Astra at any number of vaccination sites in Bangkok. She needs to get off her duff and stop whining about a situation she created for herself.

Edited August 8, 2021 by tonray

[jerrymahoney]

3 minutes ago, tonray said:

Since she is over 60 she can get Astra at any number of vaccination sites in Bangkok. She needs to get off her duff and stop whining about a situation she created for herself.

From the OP article:  

"Eighteen months, the restrictions have eased up, but she does not have access to an FDA approved vaccine."

 

Legally, she could fly to the US totally un-vaccinated but that is not the current CDC recommendation.

[tonray]

8 minutes ago, jerrymahoney said:

From the OP article:  

"Eighteen months, the restrictions have eased up, but she does not have access to an FDA approved vaccine."

 

Legally, she could fly to the US totally un-vaccinated but that is not the current CDC recommendation.

The CDC also has recommended  not eating street food in Thailand...but I wonder if she follows that advice too...she wants to live in a USA mandated bubble...then she could have stayed in the US

Edited August 8, 2021 by tonray

[Scrotobike]

15 minutes ago, tonray said:

Since she is over 60 she can get Astra at any number of vaccination sites in Bangkok. She needs to get off her duff and stop whining about a situation she created for herself.

Maybe her "duff" and other parts of her body does not reside in Bangkok. Maybe travelling to the center of the Thai universe is somewhat difficult given it is a hot bed of Covid infection and travel there is problematic. As my father told me, if you have nothing good to say, then best say nothing.

[jerrymahoney]

9 minutes ago, tonray said:

The CDC also has recommended  not eating street food in Thailand...but I wonder if she follows that advice too...she wants to live in a USA mandated bubble...then she could have stayed in the US

As I said, assuming she can get a negative viral/PCR test, there is nothing legally preventing her from getting on a plane ASAP.

[ThailandRyan]

Even vaccinated with Moderna or Pfizer may not protect her as she wishes. She is not the only cancer survivor in limbo either.  She wants assurances she will be safe to travel. So many folks on here who are not themselves immunocompromised will never understand her concerns.  Being immunicrompromised myself I get it.  However I worked with my endocrinologist and his peers and it was found the AZ vaccine would or could possibly help my issue.  Not everyone is the same and cancer is a different character.

 

https://www.statnews.com/2021/05/14/uncertain-protection-from-covid-vaccines-leaves-cancer-patients-in-limbo/

[phetphet]

Is Thai  produced AZ recognised by the FDA? Maybe only Pfizer and Moderna and Maybe Johnson & Johnson  vaccs would be acceptable for someone with her condition.

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Is Thai  produced AZ recognised by the FDA? Maybe only Pfizer and Moderna and Maybe Johnson & Johnson  vaccs would be acceptable for someone with her condition.

Does she require any vaccination to enter the USA and travel? I thought negative Covid tests was the only requirement. If it is purely her fear of the risk of traveling I can understand.

Edited August 9, 2021 by jacko45k

[SmartyMarty]

I’ve survived cancer and now want to win the lottery but can’t, but I’m not whining about it.

[DrJack54]

Wasn't AZ an option for her?

As I type this my gf is getting ready to travel for her first jab AZ.

She is under 40 and previously had cancer. 

Did the woman in the article consider flight back to the States.

[jerrymahoney]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Does she require any vaccination to enter the USA and travel? I thought negative Covid tests was the only requirement. If it is purely her fear of the risk of traveling I can understand.

Before you arrive in the United States:
All air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens and fully vaccinated people, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 3 days before travel or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months before they board a flight to the United States.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel-during-covid19.html

[tonray]

11 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Is Thai  produced AZ recognised by the FDA? Maybe only Pfizer and Moderna and Maybe Johnson & Johnson  vaccs would be acceptable for someone with her condition.

In fact....there are no FDA approved vaccines in the USA as of yet. They are only used based upon an emergency use exemption.

[jerrymahoney]

Barring the woman in question to receive some special dispensation to receive Pfizer or Moderna, maybe the best thing for her would be to buy a First Class ticket Bangkok to Atlanta and have her family from Charleston, SC meet her there.

 

US regs do not require to have any vaccination at all to arrive US just negative PCR/viral test.

Edited August 9, 2021 by jerrymahoney

[Rampant Rabbit]

1 hour ago, Saddic said:

btw: I left 3 days ago... zero problems...  Got my shot the same day I landed...

You dont tell us where you were flying to?

[ThailandRyan]

10 minutes ago, tonray said:

In fact....there are no FDA approved vaccines in the USA as of yet. They are only used based upon an emergency use exemption.

Possibly by September as the big 3 have already applied with Moderna being the last one

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/covid-vaccines-what-full-fda-approval-means-for-you.html

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Saddic said:

Then it's her choice... and she should stop blaming everybody around her and the country which has allowed her to be a guest... gods, another "karen" in the making...

 

btw: I left 3 days ago... zero problems...  Got my shot the same day I landed...

Exactly right. She should have accepted that when she left home country there might be unforeseen complications arising from that decision.

She didn't know the vaccine would be available when it was, so she could have traveled back before it was, or is there more to the story?

[OneMoreFarang]

If she wants to have everything from the first world why is she in Thailand?

She should go home to the glorious America and stay there. The land of the free and all that.

[gk10012001]

She can fly back to the USA.  Nothing prevents that.  No mandatory vaccination is required yet.  Negative test results are required before being allowed on the aircraft.

[bkk6060]

If she is so concerned about her health and well being from Covid, why does she appear to be obese?

Sorry, just saying if she had cancer and is vulnerable why not try everything possible to stay healthy.

Hope things work out for her.

 

[mfd101]

Has she applied on expatvac for her first jab of Pfizer?

[tonray]

Waiting for the "GoFundMe" page to finance a first class seat to USA

[thaibeachlovers]

Not much sympathy on here for her predicament. Totally justified, IMO.

 

Way too many people wanting to travel and work in exotic places, but not being prepared to wear it when it goes wrong.

I doubt anyone forced her to move to LOS in the first place.

 

Not just her, of course. Also all those that chose to travel without insurance, and ended up wanting other people to give money to save them from the consequences of their decisions.

[AndyFoxy]

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not much sympathy on here for her predicament. Totally justified, IMO.

 

Way too many people wanting to travel and work in exotic places, but not being prepared to wear it when it goes wrong.

I doubt anyone forced her to move to LOS in the first place.

 

Not just her, of course. Also all those that chose to travel without insurance, and ended up wanting other people to give money to save them from the consequences of their decisions.

Some people (such as the lady in the article) just aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about. 

Edited August 9, 2021 by AndyFoxy