Mor Prom app (tete_escape / Shutterstock.com)
The three million foreigners living in Thailand are entitled to Covid-19 vaccinations as much as Thais, because the goal is to achieve herd immunity. That says the Thai government in a statement on Thursday.
The policy is to vaccinate everyone in Thailand whether they are Thai or foreigners. This would be done on a voluntary basis and without discrimination, according to Health Ministry spokesman Rungruang Kitpati.
Some expats took to social media to express their frustrations about a lack of information, problems registering for vaccinations and the lack of vaccines in private hospitals.
“Anyone living in Thailand, Thai or foreign, can get the vaccine if they want to,” said Opas Kankawinpong, chief of the disease control department. “No one is safe until everyone is safe. To protect this country from the novel coronavirus, we need to immunize at least 70% of the population," he added.
Dr. Opas goes on to say that the registration process for foreigners will be the same as for Thais.
Those in vulnerable and high-risk groups, such as healthcare workers, living in high-risk areas, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, are given priority vaccination.
The government's mass vaccination program has not yet started, now only medical personnel will receive a shot from the small supply of 2,5 million doses of Sinovac. The government's main supply will come from a local manufacturer, which will start producing AstraZeneca's vaccines from next month.
Pensom Lertsithichai, director of the news department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acknowledged that it is not yet possible for foreigners to register using the Mor Prom app or Line account, but the Ministry of Health is working on it. That should work next month.
Source: Bangkok Post
About this blogger
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Known as Khun Peter (62), lives alternately in Apeldoorn and Pattaya. In a relationship with Kanchana for 14 years. Not yet retired, have my own company, something with insurance. Crazy about animals, especially dogs and music.
Enough hobbies, but unfortunately little time: writing for Thailandblog, fitness, health and nutrition, shooting sports, chatting with friends and some other oddities.
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It would be to the credit of the Thai government if it did not constantly change its mind and ensure that not everyone shouts something different.
And it has now been clearly stated: that the local manufacturer supplies the vaccines is more important than when the vaccination starts.
As I stated in a response to the posting regarding the call from embassies, Thailand has made a deal with Aastra Zeneca. https://www.astrazeneca.com/country-sites/thailand/press-relaese/thai20210428.html To this end, cooperation has been sought with Siam Bioscience. This company was previously the only one designated to take up this collaboration for the following reasons: (fill in yourself.) We are now indeed waiting for mass vaccination, as stated in the message. Last March it was already announced that millions of vaccines would be available next June/July. The 2,5 million Sinovac doses have also been delivered according to plan and are now being vaccinated. So far so good. See this article in Bangkoko Post from March 4: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/pr/2078091/public-health-ministry-to-start-building-national-immunity-with-63-million-doses-of-covid-19-vaccine
About Siam Bioscience this article, at the time sent as a link by a fellow commenter in one of the many responses to Thai corona vicissitudes: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/COVID-vaccines/Thailand-finally-kicks-off-COVID-vaccinations-5-things-to-know
The reports about this are currently too good to be true.
As Europeans, we must prepare ourselves to join the back of the queue. Maybe a few lucky ones will get the vaccine this year.
It is time to quickly involve the private hospital in the vaccinations.
Christiaan, the government talks about foreigners, so e.g. from Laos, Myanmar (important in Thailand as cheap labor) and therefore does not only speak about the European, the number of illegal and legal workers are much more of a headache for this government than those "few" Dutch, Belgians or you name it.
We westerners are far in the minority here, so don't think the word foreigners refers to white noses.
You have to be patient with the private hospitals because the government is keeping the boat off and preventing these hospitals from purchasing vaccines independently.
Just informed at Bangkok hospital in Pattaya. Nothing is known yet and there was no waiting list or anything. It was impossible to have a conversation with any content. However, it was said that if there were possibilities, this will take place at the earliest in July of this year and then also for foreigners. For what it's worth, let's wait and see what happens next. It is and remains Thailand and there you can often go in all directions except the right one.
Now it appears that the government would still allow private hospitals to buy their own supplies. If that were possible and only then could foreigners also be able to 'buy' a vaccine.
But every hour you read something different.
One can soon get the Moderna vaccines for a complete price (2 shots) of a total of 3000 baht, a uniform price which will be used by the private hospitals.
see the article in the Bangkok Post as top story:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2112411/moderna-package-likely-below-b3-000
My wife tried to register with the Line app but it didn't work.
Called the hospital today and now she is registered and can come and get the shot on June 9th.
They would also take a look for me and I have also been invited, but I have not yet made a final commitment, but here on site it is all very small-scale, so I think it will be fine.
For medical reasons, I can only be vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna. Unfortunately, these Vaccines have not yet been approved in Thailand. Daaaag -“group immunity”-. Or will this change soon?
This morning with line account , mor prom , pink ID card and Thai husband made an appointment for mid June in Chiang mai
The biggest problem : choosing a hospital that has vaccines .
So find out who gives a date, these have vaccines. no date, no vaccines presumably.
Also had to search until I saw a registration of a Thai with one hospital listed.
The hospital was not a state hospital, but an intermediate solution between the expensive .(McCormick) for the chiangmai people
Good luck with the search (with me an hour)
Since many thousands of Thais will already be vaccinated before my turn, I have time to see which vaccine gives the best results.
The news about Sinovac disturbs me, but I cannot believe that the Chinese government would be stupid enough to take risks with its own large population.
I am waiting until my Thai partner and I can go to a private hospital.
My partner has problems with her blood, so I don't want to polonaise her body with Sputnik (there isn't a Russian who wants it) and this also applies to Sinovac.
The Thai government wants to be cheap and have waited a long time to choose which vaccine they will stock for their population, so the Russians and Chinese come in handy with their vaccine for this government.
I don't care what I have to pay for a good vaccine, I don't need higher health costs because we got complications because of a free vaccine
As Dutch people, we always want to be in the front row for a dime, but now our health is more important to me than the costs to be paid for an approved vaccine.
I wish everyone good luck in making their choice of vaccine, free or pay, that is important here now and I hope that after July it will be known whether private hospitals are allowed to order independently from the manufacturer because that is also a tricky issue,
There is a lot of discussion about obtaining a vaccination against the Corona virus.
In my opinion, absolutely no exception should be made for foreigners living in Thailand.
But what I personally think about a lot is the fact what all the side effects of the vaccines in circulation are in the short term but especially in the long term.
I am not at all clear about the long-term consequences..!!!
I understand very well that if one falls into a risk group, one wants to receive a vaccination as soon as possible.
I myself am a healthy man…who does not smoke and drink…do sports daily…eat healthy…not overweight…have enough rest…almost always in a good mood…take my vitamins C, D and zinc daily…I am therefore very doubtful whether or not to take a vaccination, especially given the lack of clarity regarding the long-term consequences.
With my message I want to explain the other side with of course respect for those who do decide to take a vaccination.
The other side you choose does have consequences if many decide not to take a vaccination. After all, resistant variants may appear, some of which are not vaccinated and others that are. Even if you are healthy, you can become infected and not notice it and infect others unnoticed, so that the spread can continue unabated. And you are stuck with continuous bad revivals with lock-downs, masks, keeping your distance and no physical contact in the open air as well as mandatory tests and restrictions and less personal contact, and you can supplement this list with many other measures as well as the consequences for the economy, health care and deferred treatment, public transport, tourism sector, entertainment sector and employment and more. Everything because people refuse to vaccinate, limiting a large part of the population because of the measures to be taken. As far as I'm concerned, vaccinations can be made mandatory, precisely so that the virus is banned.
There will be no guarantees for long-term results. No one can see into the future, with a few exceptions like Nostradamus, but he has been gone for a while now. I wonder if people used to think the same way when there was a mandatory vaccination for diphtheria, smallpox, etc. (the cocktail shot) in the Netherlands. We all got them when we were kids. In the end nothing bad came out of it, or am I wrong. Why there are so many doomsayers nowadays also raises questions. Something has to be done and this is available and necessary, unless you want to live as a hermit. Millions have already preceded us and with a very small percentage things have not gone well. Also take a look at the information leaflets of many types of medicine that have been taken for years.
The risk of getting into a car or motorbike in Thailand and having an accident is many times greater than a negative reaction to the vaccine. Yet everyone participates in traffic. The human brain is inscrutable and decisions are made as a result, often with far-reaching consequences for many.
I am happy to be able to join the back of the queue ... that gives extra time to think and more news about this vaccination experiment. I am curious to find out if you are vaccinated:
- no longer have to wear a face mask
– no longer have to keep a distance of 1,5 meters
– no need to quarantine anywhere
– you no longer need to be tested if you have no complaints.
We are waiting for a local manufacturer, which has priority over getting vaccines available quickly!
You get three guesses who owns the property of this manufacturer. tip: look at the tops of the Thai trees!
I just read that the manufacturer of Sinovac is partly owned by the Hong Kong branch of the Thai CP Group……
The problem that arises can be summarized in these words: “Anyone who lives in Thailand, Thai or foreign, can get the vaccine if they want it”
Like everywhere in the world, Thailand is starting to vaccinate based on target groups.
And the foreigners are then equated with the Thais.
The first group after the high-risk professions are the 60+.
Problem for many foreigners, if they are 60+, they find hospitalization/medical insurance in Thailand much too expensive, and they officially return to live in their native country. You then get the constructions, X months in the Netherlands/Belgium, Y months in Thailand. But the main place of residence remains in the Netherlands or Belgium.
If you have to be officially living in Thailand, they are of course outside the target group, living in Thailand.
And then you get the discussion again, I don't have a yellow booklet, I don't have a pink Id, I'm not registered in the embassy, ...
Being registered in the embassy is not a legal obligation at all. A pink ID is no more than a gadget that you can obtain on a voluntary basis. There's nothing official about it at all. A yellow booklet is also not a mandatory document to be allowed to stay in Thailand on a legal basis. An expat who has an annual visa can stay here for a full year on a legal basis. To be allowed to stay here, he must also meet requirements, which is proof that it is assumed that you spend your days here.
It is also assumed that you do live here, given that you always have to get a residence certificate at immigration for administrative purposes. Every 90 days you must also report to confirm your address.
Anyone who has an annual visa here and has not been deregistered from his country of birth lives, as it were, in two places. Those who remain domiciled in their native country also need a long-term expat insurance policy, which are not that expensive at all.
There is no law that prohibits you from dividing your time between your native country and your host country.
So the facts are a bit different than you imagine them.
Everyone can choose to play along with some voluntary rules, such as registering at the embassy, applying for a pink ID, … But many who choose not to play get angry if the others get a (minimal) advantage. .
Take the Belgians, for example.
The embassy issued a letter this week that every (adult) Belgian living in Thailand can register for vaccination in Brussels.
The condition is that you live in Thailand and are registered at the embassy.
Who were the first complainants? The Belgians living in Thailand, but with an official address in Belgium. (So they are not registered at the embassy)
Another example, people living in Thailand who do not want to apply for a pink ID card. Motivation, that stuff is worthless.
If Thailand then starts using the pink ID for vaccination registration, who were the first complainants, the “I don't want pink IDers”.
I have already heard from several people, living on the outskirts, that the local state hospitals, via the local first aid post, are contacting people asking if they want to be vaccinated. Of course, to know that you live in the area, it is useful if you are registered with your local state hospital / aid station. People who refused to register with the argument, "You will never get me in such a state hospital, I'd rather die", are now at the front of the line shouting, discrimination!
Of course, people are not required to register with the embassy, or people are not required to apply for a pink ID, or to register with the local state medical aid structure. But if you choose for yourself not to play according to a few rules, no laws, you shouldn't come and complain that others have a (minimal) advantage if they do want to participate.
“Who were the first complainants? The Belgians living in Thailand, but with an official address in Belgium. (So they are not registered at the embassy)”
They don't have to complain.
They are invited by the vaccination center in Belgium itself. You will receive an invitation letter at your Belgian address and you will also receive an email if it is known. You will be invited through 3-4 different channels. Once you have received that invitation from the vaccination center you can also adjust that date to a date that you can or cancel it. Making a new appointment later remains possible even if you have it cancelled
They therefore do not even need the embassy for an appointment in Belgium and can do what the embassy does for those who have been deregistered.
In Thailand you have to arrange it yourself, but that applies to both registered and non-registered.
Correct for people who are still registered in Belgium.
Among the complainants in my circle of acquaintances you have people who have been deregistered in Belgium, but not registered at the embassy in Thailand. They now feel compelled to register with the embassy.
Registration at the embassy is not mandatory.
(I don't want to start a debate on whether this feeling, or frustration, is correct or not).
They want to do the registration for vaccination in Brussels, on presentation of Belgian identity documents, without officially registering as living in Thailand.
Well, not registered in Belgium, not registered at a consular post and they are the first to say that they are not informed of anything or have nowhere to go. They assume that it is the task of the government to find them and it is not their task to report their whereabouts.
Eventually it will sort itself out if they need a new passport or visa.
But of course they can also just go to Belgium, register and wait until they have received all their vaccinations and then disappear again until they need something again and then they will be scratching at the door again.
Is it so difficult to let the government know where you are staying and how they can contact you? No one tells you where to stay and just let them know where you are staying. Apparently a big problem for some... Little understanding.
When I ask people here in Isaan about the willingness to vaccinate, there are a lot of people who will certainly not get the shot.
They are terrified of it, and think they can die from it, so wait and see, but maybe there will be a surplus of vaccinations.
What Peter says is certainly true: even in my environment and in-laws in the Isaan they do not want a vaccine because they are afraid of the side effects.
And it has nothing to do with level of education, because just like in the western world where people are highly educated, they also stuff everything in their mouths, frikandellen, hogweeds and everything that seems edible without ever wondering whether those ingredients are all right. be OK.
But if a vaccine developed by high-quality science comes along, people seem to know exactly what is in it or what is not in it and people would rather die from a virus than run the (negligible) risk of a side effect.
We just let ourselves go crazy for nothing!