Vaccination
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The Dutch Association of Pattaya sends a message on July 30 from someone who says that the Bangkok Hospital Pattaya has started vaccinating regular customers free of charge.
Immediately I start calling to make an appointment. After an hour I give up. How to do that in a heart attack seems problematic. Apparently the storm is running for or better against Corona. I ask Sit to take me to the hospital so that we can make an appointment there or maybe get help. Behind the main building is a special room for vaccinations. So the story is true. Only now I am told that I must first make an appointment with my treating physician.
We go to the heart ward and I report to the desk saying that I'm only coming to be forwarded to the vaccination center. They understand what I mean. Doctor Ulaan is not present, but we have to wait ten minutes. In the meantime my blood pressure and weight are measured. When doctor Ulaan arrives, a friendly nurse comes to tell me that a visit to Ulaan is not necessary. I will be put on a list and will be called when I can get the shot.
When I'm home for an hour I get a call from the hospital that I can come August 3 for the first injection. That runs smoothly. A few months ago I was already able to register at the same hospital, but I had to pay 3.500 Baht in advance and the first injection would be made in October. So I let that pass.
On Tuesday, August 3, some ripples appear on the vaccination pond. We arrive at the hospital at nine o'clock, but vaccination is impossible. I have to come back at one o'clock. No time was mentioned in the phone call received, but protesting does not help. At a quarter to one we are back, just like a hundred other foreigners. That's going to take a while. From one o'clock a few people are allowed in at a time.
Fortunately, Sit discovers that I can join the first group through a side entrance, while the main entrance is closely guarded. That seems to be pushing ahead and it is, but my physical constitution is really not capable of long waiting times. Everyone has to stand in front of a complicated camera and is then given a number. The only delay here is that twenty people in a wheelchair are allowed in front. That is social and moreover I know for the next time that my wheelchair will come along. An elevator takes us to the tenth floor. That's where the administrative part begins.
A form already filled in below is compared with the passport and the computer is consulted. Everything is fine. In addition, I receive a green form with the date for the second injection, October 26. I have to move on to another table, where my blood pressure is measured. Then I go to a gentleman who wants to know everything about my heart and my COPD and then I can go to the room where the needle is being injected. That goes very fast and I don't feel anything. Now I have to go to a large hall, where rows have been formed, so that it is clear that everyone is sitting for half an hour. That's part of it. I'm done at a quarter past two.
Hooray, I'm vaccinated. Now my family.
Congratulations, may I ask what you have been vaccinated with.
If all goes well, they will also start Pfyser-Biotech in Bangkok next week, provided free of charge by
America.
Astra Music
I wonder why it is necessary to register first and then return... That could just as well have been done on the same day and during the same visit. People are crazy about administration here in Thailand, 80% of which is completely useless and only for filling out papers and keeping the potentially unemployed "busy". Added value of that operation “administration” = 0. See the 90-day showup. See the exit-reentry permit. See the work permit procedure. See the annual renewal of your retirement permit, etc. etc. All that requires half a hectare of trees worth of paper...
As far as my wife and I are concerned, we will be out of here in December. 30 years has been enough and they have not improved in the meantime. The country deserves better leadership. Waiting for yet another 'coup'?
I signed up for a Moderna vaccine early this week and paid 3300 THB for 2 shots. I got a call yesterday that the vaccines won't come until April/May next year. Pffff good then, I hope I don't get the virus or a variant in the meantime.
Why not sign up for the free Pfizer vaccine? Will even be provided soon, I understood from previous postings.
I had also done that and paid with 3 Thai people, all 3 of them received an agreement for a vaccine at the end of October, while I was the only foreigner to receive a rejection and my money would be refunded.
I am now registered and approved for Pfyzer ( free ) in Bangkok in 1 week.
Yesterday I received a message from the first hospital that I can now also get the Moderna vaccine, I think this is because people have also switched to Bangkok, so I thanked them kindly.
In which hospitals can you get the Pfizer vaccine?
I was invited by a friend to ride to the Bang Sue Grand Railway Station in Bangkok. There he and I would be vaccinated for free. He as caretaker of the "oldie". So me. Hundreds of people were waiting in rows of four upon arrival. Someone from the organization picked me out of the queue because he could see that I was over 70 years old. We had to go to exit 2 of the station. I joined some people in wheelchairs and thought this is going well. Unfortunately a hitch for my "care giver" who was found to be too young and not eligible for an injection. After half an hour we were outside.
I do wonder if I will get my prepaid 3300 baht back from the Medpark Hospital in Bangkok. Very early on I registered with five hospitals. Perhaps that amount has been set for the Moderna vaccine that is expected to be available next year. Then I'm definitely going to get that jab set. Maybe we will get through this pandemic healthy.
As often happens in this country, there is no way to make sense of how things are going here or how things are arranged.
Vaccination of risk groups has the highest priority, they say. But many Thai or expats with health problems have problems getting a vaccination. While healthy Thai young people and middle-aged Thais have already received at least 1 vaccination. I know several of them among my former students. I myself have now received 1 AZ vaccination through my employer, the university. I don't know how they arranged that for all their employees. I would say that the employees of the university as such do not belong to the risk groups because all education is forced online, and the new academic year (start September 1) will also start online.
In short: chaos everywhere. And so the power of the strongest, the richest, the smartest applies.
It's for laughing if it's not for crying. I have been registered in the Bangkok hospital for a long time and am a welcome guest there. But information so far has not been forthcoming. You keep hearing from others that something is going on. In the previous round I had not received any information either, and later I received an e-mail that things were not going well with the e-mail services and that they will do better. Well that hasn't changed a bit. This is not good for the confidence and I understand the people who go back to the home country, you can count on that. Fortunately I can go to Bangkok next week, but of course it should not depend on luck. No, for the time being it is still muddling through in Thailand and especially be patient or be lucky.
We ! 3 farangs (aged 61, 76 and 81) and one wife also went to Bang Sue station for the injection, one woman is 50 and also received the injection without any problems on October 8. our second injection follows! What struck us was how smoothly it went, a lot of people, but we were outside in two hours, something we didn't expect.
After registering with both the government and BHP in Pattaya some time ago, I received a call the day before yesterday for an appointment. Of course, filling in the form already filled in 3 times with all data that one already has from immigration as well as my file number at BHP received a document on which I could indicate a date and time for an injection with AZ. That will happen on August 24.