Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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Gaybutton
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Pattaya and Covid vaccine

Post by Gaybutton »

According to this article, Pattaya residents will get the vaccine free of charge. No word at this time whether that will include farang expats. I am guessing it will not. If expats do have to pay for the vaccine, it will be available at local hospitals. According to the article the vaccine is not particularly expensive, about 300 baht per dose - that is unless the hospitals significantly jack up the price.
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Pattaya City plans to purchase 240,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines for Pattaya locals

By Nop Meechukhun

15 January 2021

Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem yesterday, January 14th, had ordered a financial inspection in order to prepare to purchase 240,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccination for all* Pattaya local residents if approved by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O’Cha.

The Mayor revealed that officials from the Pattaya City Finance Office and related departments were invited to a meeting yesterday to clarify the financial and fiscal status of Pattaya City, including details of the projects that will be conducted this year, in order to estimate financial power before planning to purchase hundreds of thousands of shots of Covid-19 vaccines for Pattaya area residents. Residents would reportedly get the vaccine for free*.

The decision was made following the government’s authorization stating that local governments can purchase the vaccines for their own people if they choose to do so in order to speed up the process of getting residents and places vaccinated.

According to the records, Pattaya City can operate according to principles and policies under the standards from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Ministry of Public Health to provide vaccination. However, further trading procedures will depend on the requirements and some other steps from various departments.

Mayor Sonthaya continued: “Currently, house registration of Pattaya City has reached a total population of 120,000 people, then we would need about 240,000 shots of the vaccine. If the price of the supplied vaccine was approximately 300 baht (This is just an estimate, not a hard cost), Pattaya would need a budget of at least 72 million baht in order to cover all the residents in the city.”

Pattaya City has initially set a budget of roughly 80 million baht to invest in Covid-19 vaccinations, the Mayor concluded. By getting Pattaya City residents vaccinated quickly the Mayor hopes to be able to encourage tourism to return to the area faster and begin to rebuild the city that has been devastated by the virus and measures implemented to respond to it.

*The Pattaya News notes that it was not made clear if foreign residents, even with work permits or other proof of residence, would be able to be part of this rollout or if it would cost them money and there was not an immediate answer to this question. There were also no immediate answers to other questions such as what the exact vaccine timetable would be, where the vaccine would come from, or how the rollout of the vaccines in Pattaya would take place.

As The Pattaya News gets information on these important questions we will provide them to our readers.

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/01/15/p ... ya-locals/
thewayhelooks
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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So which vaccine are we getting? Not the half-arsed one developed by China's Sinovac BioTech which has been found to be 50.4% effective in Brazilian clinical trials. The Bangkok Post says Thailand has ordered two million doses of it. Pass!
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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thewayhelooks wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:41 am So which vaccine are we getting? Not the half-arsed one developed by China's Sinovac BioTech which has been found to be 50.4% effective in Brazilian clinical trials. The Bangkok Post says Thailand has ordered two million doses of it. Pass!
Effectiveness is defined as the total reduction in infections, regardless of their severity, but my decision would be based on more than that simple number:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55642648
If it is confirmed that the vaccine is "100% effective in staving off moderate to severe cases" then, in the absence of anything better, I would accept it.

In the long run, I would aim to have a second vaccine using an entirely different mode of action.
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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ceejay wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:55 am in the absence of anything better, I would accept it.
So would I. And I am expecting immigration to make it mandatory. I'm expecting no vaccination=no visa. Even if it is only 50% or less effective, it's better than nothing.

Speaking only for myself, no matter what vaccine is available I will still be taking all the precautions at least until Covid is essentially eradicated in Thailand. I truly believe those of us who can be classified as "elderly", coming down with Covid is likely a death sentence.
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

Post by catawampuscat »

One positive of living in Pattaya now is there is natural social distancing. Restaurants are almost empty as well as shopping
centers. Problems lie in illegal gambling dens and illegal swimming pools parties and boating parties organized by heterosexual men.
Illegal immigrants from neighboring countries another factor. Pattaya still far safer than most of the ‘first world’ countries where Covid rages.
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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catawampuscat wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:03 pm Pattaya still far safer than most of the ‘first world’ countries where Covid rages.
I agree. While Pattaya might not be the world's greatest place for gay holiday makers at the moment (or maybe comparatively it is), even though the numbers of cases have risen lately, the chances of contracting Covid here are still minuscule compared to much of the rest of the world - and nearly everyone is cooperative about wearing face masks, which I believe they would be doing even without an edict. Besides, some of us, especially me, are much less of an eyesore with our faces covered . . .
gera

Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

Post by gera »

ceejay wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:55 am
thewayhelooks wrote: Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:41 am So which vaccine are we getting? Not the half-arsed one developed by China's Sinovac BioTech which has been found to be 50.4% effective in Brazilian clinical trials. The Bangkok Post says Thailand has ordered two million doses of it. Pass!
Effectiveness is defined as the total reduction in infections, regardless of their severity, but my decision would be based on more than that simple number:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55642648
If it is confirmed that the vaccine is "100% effective in staving off moderate to severe cases" then, in the absence of anything better, I would accept it.

In the long run, I would aim to have a second vaccine using an entirely different mode of action.
I would not take Sinovac vaccine. No data was published about the third phase trial. Moreover, trial has been stopped in Peru after a man got severely sick and died. This vaccine is based on inactivated covid virus. Typically , this approach creates antibodies but does not activate T cell response. Any kind of protection , therefore may not last. Besides , depending on the design of the vaccine it may lead to the enhancement of the decease rather than protection in some cases.
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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gera wrote: Sun Jan 17, 2021 5:21 am depending on the design of the vaccine it may lead to the enhancement of the decease rather than protection in some cases.
I hope that doesn't happen, but if that is the only vaccine available in Thailand, it will be a difficult decision for expats. And if immigration requires it, then expats won't have much choice.

I'm wondering whether via hospitals other vaccines will be available, but if so I shudder to think how much they will cost.

In my opinion the best way to prevent Covid is to continue all the precautions. Vaccine or no vaccine, that is what I intend to do. When it's my turn to die, I don't want it to be because I was careless about Covid or put my faith in an unreliable vaccine. For me, the face mask stays on.
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Re: Pattaya and Covid vaccine

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Safety of Thai people most important for vaccination: PM

Jan 17, 2021

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has said he would not risk Thai lives by rushing to approve vaccines that have not been fully tested

.In a message on his Facebook page on Sunday, the PM refused to let Thais be guinea pigs.

The PM alluded to recent news about side-effects or adverse effects from Covid-19 vaccine in some foreign countries. He said Thailand must wait to hear opinions of experts on whether the symptoms were vaccine-related, or other factors, such as certain medical conditions, physical condition, or age, including whether the rate of side-effects is acceptable?

He said some countries wanted to start vaccination early, even before the efficacy and safety of the vaccine had been fully tested.

"I have an important policy -- to ensure that the vaccine is safe, so it can be used for Thai people," he said.

The National Vaccine Committee will advise and closely supervise the whole process, he said.

Success in curbing Covid-19 can be better achieved by cooperation and implementation of various measures, especially wearing a mask at all times, frequently washing hands, and social distancing. In addition, if you want the disease control to be effective, scan the QR Code "ThaiChana" every time you are in public, and using the app "MorChana" will be very good, he said.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30401368
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Thai Prime Minister will ensure safety of all Covid-19 vaccination before being distributed to Thai citizens

By Nop Meechukhun

Sunday, 17 January 2021

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan O’Cha published an online statement this afternoon, January 17th, regarding the public reaction of Thai nationals to the news of possibly fatal side effects of Covid-19 vaccination injections in several people across the world, especially in Norway. The Pattaya News notes these reports have not gone through a peer-review process and are not independently verified.

According to his statements, the fatal side effects will have to be thoroughly examined and have to be officially confirmed by medical experts in regards to whether it was due to the vaccine itself or due to other factors of the individuals involved, such as a certain health condition, physical condition, or age.

The Prime Minister said that the government decided not to rush any vaccines that have not been fully developed and tested, knowing that there could potentially be some risks for Thai citizens.

His social media status posted this afternoon read: “We refuse to be an experimental country. Thai people should not be ‘guinea pigs’ for any type of vaccination that is not safe. The Thai Government takes a stand for a policy that a Covid-19 vaccine must be confirmed safe before being injected into Thai people.”

The safety of vaccines being distributed in Thailand must be examined and supervised by the National Vaccine Committee, the Prime Minister added.

Regarding the success in controlling the spread of Covid-19 in the past year, the Prime Minister stated that he attributed most of the success due to the implementation of various health measures and widespread cooperation among Thai people.

People are being reminded to wash their hands, perform social distancing, check-in via the “Thai Chana” application, and download the “Mor Chana” application for their own safety, the Prime Minister concluded.

It is unknown if the recent statements of the Prime Minister will cause any delays to current plans for vaccines in Thailand which are due to arrive next month in limited numbers.

https://tpnnational.com/2021/01/17/thai ... -citizens/
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