Covid19 in Thailand

[CO-CO]

The price gauging never stops for Big Pharma and its supporters.
Commercial option using Moderna not here in Thailand until October 2021 with a minor spat over government taxes on the importation of the vaccine.
Minister defends import taxes on vaccine
The plans were to offer the vaccine at a price of ฿3,000 to ฿3,500 per person including two doses, VAT and insurance although some confusion was created with recent reports when the Ministry of Public Health suggested the vaccine could be subject to a government tax.
In fact, the Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul defended the tax which is believed to apply to all imported vaccines at 14% of the cost as normal.
Cost of Sputnik V in India is 995 Indian Rupees = 427 Thai Baht.
Thailand will charge 3,500 Thai Baht for Moderna.  Moderna, Inc is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The grand rip off still continues strong in Thailand.
Regards

Happy to pay 3,500 Baht.

[CO-CO]

Co-co that was funny, really made me laugh. I just extended my stay for another year so plenty of time to figure it all out.

I definitely do believe in vaccines, those that are proven safe, and effective. I?ll be having it, but not yet and not sinovac.

My issue with this is the terms ?force? and jail. Not gonna happen. I do believe they will mandate immunization as a requirement to enter Thailand, as well as other countries, after there has been sufficient time and product availability. Quite understandable.

However, seeing what does come out of Chinese manufacturing makes me distrustful of their vaccine.

Just because it is a pharmaceutical company does not make it better than other Chinese manufacturing. Remember just recently there was a massive recall of meds that had been prepared with known carcinogens?  Trusting a pharmaceutical company because that?s what they make is like saying that someone is of the highest moral and ethical stature because he is king. Yes. Ok. Uh huh. Sure.

So, we have one member who will take only the Russian vaccine. One that will not take the Chinese vaccine. Yet, I am yet to see any stories about vast numbers of people dropping down dead because of any of the vaccines available.

Neither have I seen any stories about a load of people testing positive for Covid after having been fully vaccinated.

The vaccines seem safe, a tiny %%% of people have developed blood clots. Even these figures are likely high as there are no figures stating how many people develop blood clots without having had a vaccine. The vaccines, all of them, appear effective too.

I believe the modern term is "Snowflake".

+1

[CO-CO]

Expats to get vaccine app as Buriram threatens jail for anyone not complying with jab rollout mission

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2021/05/18/expats-to-get-app-vaccine-law-in-buriram/

Better than that.....


A Farang was told yesterday, by an IO in Buriram, that it will be a requirement to have a vaccination certificate to complete an annual extension.



I don't believe that will ever happen - but it shows the mentality at the moment.

[Tassie]

COCO,  I am interested  that you promote the idea that paying 3,500 baht for you is no problem  That's great for you but we are not living in an EXPAT  vacuum, because most Thailand people have only limited baht sources and I imagine that they would support the paying for a Covid V for only 427 Baht against 3,500 baht which you can afford.
Regards

[Gerry]

I'm with you Bob, Sputnik V was not developed along the same lines as Big Pharma and has proven itself to be safe.
Regards

I have recently read an article in the Guardian about the trials of Sputnik.

There were 43 adverse events in those taking part. 4 of those taking part in the trials died.

Researchers said that these were nothing to do with the vaccine and used figures of other vaccine trials to compare the safety of Sputnik.

So, we don't believe anything the Chinese say but believe all that the Russians say? Doesn't really make sense.

What part of the Russian researchers studies do we believe? Is it the idea that the adverse effects and deaths were nothing to do with the vaccine or that fact that, if they were, the figures are similar to all other vaccines?

[Tassie]

The Guardian is certainly not a great source for news, however we must keep an open mind.
Please provide the internet  link source.
Regards
 

[Gerry]

The Guardian is certainly not a great source for news, however we must keep an open mind.
Please provide the internet  link source.
Regards

You don't like the source? That's as expected. Then you say "keep an open mind". Is saying that you will only take ONE vaccine as that is the only safe one really keeping an open mind?

You don't like my source so here is another.

https://euobserver.com/world/151483

[Gerry]

" %%% of people have developed blood clots"
What if it will be you? Just take it, good luck.

There are risks everywhere. I can't think of anything that does not carry a risk. The risk from vaccines for Covid are miniscule.

Less than the risk of clots from taking the contraceptive pill, and much less than the risk of DVT from flying.

Is that the Russian, American, Chinese, British or EU contraceptive pill? If you fly Aeroflot is the risk of DVT lower?

[Tassie]

Gerry, I never said that I didn't like your source, did I? You said, You don't like my source so here is another?. Thank you for your source, this, the first one you have provided, not another. Take a deep breath and relax because we are all entitled to our own opinions and I for one don't have to agree with you and vice versa. Take whatever Covid V jab you like, it's none of my business.
Regards

Four people recently died in Russia shortly after taking the Sputnik V anti-corona jab in previously unreported cases, which are being taken "seriously" by the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam.
Six other Russians also had medical complications after taking the vaccine, according to internal case files from RosPotrebNadzor, a Russian body responsible for administering vaccinations, seen by EUobserver.
?    Several EU countries keen to buy and produce Russia's drug (Photo: imf.org)
Three of the deceased were women aged 51, 69, and 74.
The fourth one was not identified in the leaked files.
The deaths were heart, lung, or blood-sugar related and might or might not have been caused by Sputnik V, the dossier of Russian documents indicated.
The other six patients were younger men and women, one of whom was just 25.
They suffered a range of symptoms, including breathing difficulties, convulsions, swelling, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, and fevers after their jabs.
The authenticity of one of the RosPotrebNadzor case files was officially confirmed by Denis Logunov, a senior virologist at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, which developed Sputnik V.
"I requested information about this case and ... obtained a response. This case is not fake," he told EUobserver on Wednesday (7 April), speaking of the 51-year old woman, who died suddenly after taking her second Sputnik V dose.
"The case was investigated. No association with vaccination was found," Logunov, who recently co-authored a paper on Sputnik V safety in British publication The Lancet, added.
One of the non-fatal cases was covered by a Russian regional newspaper, PLN Pskov.
But the newspaper issued the same caveat as Logunov.
"Conspiracy theorists please calm down. This terrible syndrome [an illness the patient contracted] could develop from any harmless vaccine," PLN Pskov said.
EUobserver independently identified three other patients in the leaked files via their social media accounts, while another one was identified as a nurse in a local hospital in Ulyanovsk, a city in western Russia.
It was not possible to confirm the deaths, as there is no open-source death registry in Russia.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, an organ responsible for exporting Sputnik V, declined to comment.
But for its part, the EMA, which is currently screening Sputnik V for EU-wide approval, confirmed it had also seen the RosPotrebNadzor case files.
These were sent to the EU regulator by a Russian whistleblower, who asked to remain anonymous, rather than via normal channels however, according to an email by an EMA official dated 26 March and seen by this website.
"We can confirm that all reports are treated seriously by the EMA and assessed directly," an EMA spokeswoman told EUobserver on Thursday, referring to the RosPotrebNadzor files on deaths and other complications.
"In this particular case, the report hints to the safety of the vaccine, which is a fundamental aspect to be evaluated both during the ongoing rolling review and in the assessment subsequent to the filing of a marketing authorisation application. For this reason, we cannot comment at this stage on the facts narrated in the [RosPotrebNadzor] report," she added.
The EMA's review was also "based on results from laboratory studies and clinical studies in adults", it noted.
The total number of cases (10) in the leaked files was tiny compared to the millions of people who felt fine after taking Sputnik V.
"There is a problem with under-registration of side-effects of drugs in Russia in general," Vasily Vlassov, an epidemiologist at HSE University in Moscow, told EUobserver on Wednesday.
"All non-desirable effects connected in time with the use of the drug should be considered as a possible side-effect of the drug. It is a fundamental rule. Even death under a train should be considered," Vlassov, who co-wrote a study on Sputnik V in the British Medical Journal, said.
Raw nerves
The news on deaths after taking Sputnik V comes to light in a nervous atmosphere in Europe.
Some EU countries recently paused use of the British and Swedish-made AstraZeneca vaccine after isolated reports of blood clots.
And the general public felt alarmed, because pharmaceutical firms and regulators had rushed through vaccine approvals in the Covid-19 emergency, Judy Twigg, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University in the US, said.
"Even if the adverse events [in the RosPotrebNadzor files] weren't linked to the vaccine, they still should have been openly reported," she told EUobserver.
"Data on all vaccines should be subject to high levels of scrutiny in order to minimise the risk of compromising public trust," she added.
"Open, well-communicated assessment of adverse events, the risks they pose, and appropriate measures to mitigate those risks offer the best path toward that trust," Twigg said.
The RosPotrebNadzor revelation also comes amid political tension on vaccines.
Pausing the AstraZeneca jabs prompted accusations of post-Brexit EU harassment by some UK voices.
At the same time, Hungary has already started using Sputnik V despite the fact it has no EMA clearance.
And Austria, France, Germany, and Italy are in advanced talks with Russia on buying and joint production of its drug.
Vaccine geopolitics
The EMA, earlier this week, also told British newspaper the Financial Times it had ethical concerns about Russia's data-collection methods.
But amid Europe's appeals for fair play, the Kremlin is taking a strong line in defending its product from potential bad press.
"A scenario of information attack on Sputnik V is being prepared through controlled non-governmental organisations (the US Agency for International Development, Soros foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation) and media structures (BBC, Reuters, Internews)," a "high-ranking Kremlin source" told Russia's Tass news agency in March.
"[The attack] aims to substantiate the promoted theses about the vaccine's 'inefficiency and danger' by faking mass deaths allegedly caused by the use of the medicine," the Kremlin source said.

[Gerry]

Gerry, I never said that I didn?t like your source, did I? You said, ?You don?t like my source so here is another?. Thank you for your source, this, the first one you have provided. Take a deep breath and relax because we are all entitled to our own opinions and I for one don?t have to agree with you and vice versa. Take whatever Covid V jab you like, it?s none of my business.
Regards

Four people recently died in Russia shortly after taking the Sputnik V anti-corona jab in previously unreported cases, which are being taken "seriously" by the EU regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam.
Six other Russians also had medical complications after taking the vaccine, according to internal case files from RosPotrebNadzor, a Russian body responsible for administering vaccinations, seen by EUobserver.
?    Several EU countries keen to buy and produce Russia's drug (Photo: imf.org)
Three of the deceased were women aged 51, 69, and 74.
The fourth one was not identified in the leaked files.
The deaths were heart, lung, or blood-sugar related and might or might not have been caused by Sputnik V, the dossier of Russian documents indicated.
The other six patients were younger men and women, one of whom was just 25.
They suffered a range of symptoms, including breathing difficulties, convulsions, swelling, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, headaches, dizziness, and fevers after their jabs.
The authenticity of one of the RosPotrebNadzor case files was officially confirmed by Denis Logunov, a senior virologist at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, which developed Sputnik V.
"I requested information about this case and ... obtained a response. This case is not fake," he told EUobserver on Wednesday (7 April), speaking of the 51-year old woman, who died suddenly after taking her second Sputnik V dose.
"The case was investigated. No association with vaccination was found," Logunov, who recently co-authored a paper on Sputnik V safety in British publication The Lancet, added.
One of the non-fatal cases was covered by a Russian regional newspaper, PLN Pskov.
But the newspaper issued the same caveat as Logunov.
"Conspiracy theorists please calm down. This terrible syndrome [an illness the patient contracted] could develop from any harmless vaccine," PLN Pskov said.
EUobserver independently identified three other patients in the leaked files via their social media accounts, while another one was identified as a nurse in a local hospital in Ulyanovsk, a city in western Russia.
It was not possible to confirm the deaths, as there is no open-source death registry in Russia.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, an organ responsible for exporting Sputnik V, declined to comment.
But for its part, the EMA, which is currently screening Sputnik V for EU-wide approval, confirmed it had also seen the RosPotrebNadzor case files.
These were sent to the EU regulator by a Russian whistleblower, who asked to remain anonymous, rather than via normal channels however, according to an email by an EMA official dated 26 March and seen by this website.
"We can confirm that all reports are treated seriously by the EMA and assessed directly," an EMA spokeswoman told EUobserver on Thursday, referring to the RosPotrebNadzor files on deaths and other complications.
"In this particular case, the report hints to the safety of the vaccine, which is a fundamental aspect to be evaluated both during the ongoing rolling review and in the assessment subsequent to the filing of a marketing authorisation application. For this reason, we cannot comment at this stage on the facts narrated in the [RosPotrebNadzor] report," she added.
The EMA's review was also "based on results from laboratory studies and clinical studies in adults", it noted.
The total number of cases (10) in the leaked files was tiny compared to the millions of people who felt fine after taking Sputnik V.
"There is a problem with under-registration of side-effects of drugs in Russia in general," Vasily Vlassov, an epidemiologist at HSE University in Moscow, told EUobserver on Wednesday.
"All non-desirable effects connected in time with the use of the drug should be considered as a possible side-effect of the drug. It is a fundamental rule. Even death under a train should be considered," Vlassov, who co-wrote a study on Sputnik V in the British Medical Journal, said.
Raw nerves
The news on deaths after taking Sputnik V comes to light in a nervous atmosphere in Europe.
Some EU countries recently paused use of the British and Swedish-made AstraZeneca vaccine after isolated reports of blood clots.
And the general public felt alarmed, because pharmaceutical firms and regulators had rushed through vaccine approvals in the Covid-19 emergency, Judy Twigg, a professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University in the US, said.
"Even if the adverse events [in the RosPotrebNadzor files] weren't linked to the vaccine, they still should have been openly reported," she told EUobserver.
"Data on all vaccines should be subject to high levels of scrutiny in order to minimise the risk of compromising public trust," she added.
"Open, well-communicated assessment of adverse events, the risks they pose, and appropriate measures to mitigate those risks offer the best path toward that trust," Twigg said.
The RosPotrebNadzor revelation also comes amid political tension on vaccines.
Pausing the AstraZeneca jabs prompted accusations of post-Brexit EU harassment by some UK voices.
At the same time, Hungary has already started using Sputnik V despite the fact it has no EMA clearance.
And Austria, France, Germany, and Italy are in advanced talks with Russia on buying and joint production of its drug.
Vaccine geopolitics
The EMA, earlier this week, also told British newspaper the Financial Times it had ethical concerns about Russia's data-collection methods.
But amid Europe's appeals for fair play, the Kremlin is taking a strong line in defending its product from potential bad press.
"A scenario of information attack on Sputnik V is being prepared through controlled non-governmental organisations (the US Agency for International Development, Soros foundation, Thomson Reuters Foundation) and media structures (BBC, Reuters, Internews)," a "high-ranking Kremlin source" told Russia's Tass news agency in March.
"[The attack] aims to substantiate the promoted theses about the vaccine's 'inefficiency and danger' by faking mass deaths allegedly caused by the use of the medicine," the Kremlin source said.

I am very relaxed, thanks.

It is not I who is contradicting myself.

Pharma companies, Russian reasearchers and governments are all going to push their own vaccines. That is called propaganda. If you wish to believe that, so be it.

I prefer to look at facts. Maybe you could provide us with facts on how many people have died or got sick from each vaccine. I already know the answers but thought you may like to give us your version.

Thanks,

[DeputyDavid]

I have not read the above posts but here is what the US Embassy said to me:

Good afternoon.  We have been in touch with the Buriram provincial officials regarding the May 13 mandate.  Per our conversation with them, we understand the following:
Buriram public health officials are currently asking residents and workers to complete a risk assessment form.
Buriram public health officials are evaluating the forms to determine who may be living in a high-risk area and might have COVID-19.
If Buriram public health officials determine a person lives in a high-risk area or a person is suspected of carrying COVID-19, then that person has two options: get vaccinated or risk paying a fine/jail time.
This action is legal in Thailand under the current Emergency Decree, although Buriram is the first province we understand to implement this measure.
 
Buriram officials cannot force you to take the vaccine and their hope is that people in the risk categories seriously consider getting vaccinated to curb the spread of the disease.  AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson are approved for use in Thailand.
 
You can find the full mandate (in Thai) here: http://www.buriram.go.th/covid-19/command/command-13-2564.pdf.  We have also attached a flyer (in Thai) which notes the vaccines are not compulsory unless you are in a high-risk area.
 
The latest information from the Embassy regarding COVID-19 can be found here: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/.
 
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok
 

[CO-CO]

I have not read the above posts but here is what the US Embassy said to me:

Good afternoon.  We have been in touch with the Buriram provincial officials regarding the May 13 mandate.  Per our conversation with them, we understand the following:
Buriram public health officials are currently asking residents and workers to complete a risk assessment form.
Buriram public health officials are evaluating the forms to determine who may be living in a high-risk area and might have COVID-19.
If Buriram public health officials determine a person lives in a high-risk area or a person is suspected of carrying COVID-19, then that person has two options: get vaccinated or risk paying a fine/jail time.
This action is legal in Thailand under the current Emergency Decree, although Buriram is the first province we understand to implement this measure.
 
Buriram officials cannot force you to take the vaccine and their hope is that people in the risk categories seriously consider getting vaccinated to curb the spread of the disease.  AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson are approved for use in Thailand.
 
You can find the full mandate (in Thai) here: http://www.buriram.go.th/covid-19/command/command-13-2564.pdf.  We have also attached a flyer (in Thai) which notes the vaccines are not compulsory unless you are in a high-risk area.
 
The latest information from the Embassy regarding COVID-19 can be found here: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/.
 
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok
 

Bullshit answer from the US embassy.


About as useful as the British embassy.


What happens on the ground (not on a flyer) is what happens.

[CO-CO]

COCO,  I am interested  that you promote the idea that paying 3,500 baht for you is no problem  That's great for you but we are not living in an EXPAT  vacuum, because most Thailand people have only limited baht sources and I imagine that they would support the paying for a Covid V for only 427 Baht against 3,500 baht which you can afford.
Regards

Everyone is entitled to a free vaccine.


I am not sure what your point is.

[Gerry]

I have not read the above posts but here is what the US Embassy said to me:

Good afternoon.  We have been in touch with the Buriram provincial officials regarding the May 13 mandate.  Per our conversation with them, we understand the following:
Buriram public health officials are currently asking residents and workers to complete a risk assessment form.
Buriram public health officials are evaluating the forms to determine who may be living in a high-risk area and might have COVID-19.
If Buriram public health officials determine a person lives in a high-risk area or a person is suspected of carrying COVID-19, then that person has two options: get vaccinated or risk paying a fine/jail time.
This action is legal in Thailand under the current Emergency Decree, although Buriram is the first province we understand to implement this measure.
 
Buriram officials cannot force you to take the vaccine and their hope is that people in the risk categories seriously consider getting vaccinated to curb the spread of the disease.  AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson are approved for use in Thailand.
 
You can find the full mandate (in Thai) here: http://www.buriram.go.th/covid-19/command/command-13-2564.pdf.  We have also attached a flyer (in Thai) which notes the vaccines are not compulsory unless you are in a high-risk area.
 
The latest information from the Embassy regarding COVID-19 can be found here: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/.
 
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok
 

Bullshit answer from the US embassy.


About as useful as the British embassy.


What happens on the ground (not on a flyer) is what happens.

I spoke to my wife about this mandate in Buriram. I asked why us first. She explained a little about the politics in Buriram. From what I gather the guy that owns the football team is quite powerful.

That would explain a lot. He wants stadiums and race tracks open and full of paying customers no doubt. What better way to get that done than to be a vaccination leader.

[CO-CO]

I have not read the above posts but here is what the US Embassy said to me:

Good afternoon.  We have been in touch with the Buriram provincial officials regarding the May 13 mandate.  Per our conversation with them, we understand the following:
Buriram public health officials are currently asking residents and workers to complete a risk assessment form.
Buriram public health officials are evaluating the forms to determine who may be living in a high-risk area and might have COVID-19.
If Buriram public health officials determine a person lives in a high-risk area or a person is suspected of carrying COVID-19, then that person has two options: get vaccinated or risk paying a fine/jail time.
This action is legal in Thailand under the current Emergency Decree, although Buriram is the first province we understand to implement this measure.
 
Buriram officials cannot force you to take the vaccine and their hope is that people in the risk categories seriously consider getting vaccinated to curb the spread of the disease.  AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson are approved for use in Thailand.
 
You can find the full mandate (in Thai) here: http://www.buriram.go.th/covid-19/command/command-13-2564.pdf.  We have also attached a flyer (in Thai) which notes the vaccines are not compulsory unless you are in a high-risk area.
 
The latest information from the Embassy regarding COVID-19 can be found here: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/.
 
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy, Bangkok
 

Bullshit answer from the US embassy.


About as useful as the British embassy.


What happens on the ground (not on a flyer) is what happens.

I spoke to my wife about this mandate in Buriram. I asked why us first. She explained a little about the politics in Buriram. From what I gather the guy that owns the football team is quite powerful.

That would explain a lot. He wants stadiums and race tracks open and full of paying customers no doubt. What better way to get that done than to be a vaccination leader.

Similar to Phuket who are totally dependent on tourists.

No vaccination, or Covid-free certificate with 72 hours, NO ENTRY.