Expats are included in Thailand’s vaccination plan

[reader]

From  The Thaiger

Hospital extends hours to accelerate expat vaccinations

In an effort to accelerate the rollout of vaccines and prevent overcrowding at inculcation centres, MedPark Hospital in Bangkok is opening up vaccination appointments after business hours until August 9 as part of its “Going the Extra Mile, Extra Hours” campaign. The extended hours are from 6pm to 10pm.

MedPark Hospital is participating in the ThailandIntervac project by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Public Health Ministry, an immunisation programme focused on incolucating priority groups in high-risk areas. The priority groups include foreign residents who are 60 years old and above, those with one of the specified underlying conditions, and women who are at least 12 weeks pregnant.

At MedPark Hospital, health officials are administering the Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines. To register for a vaccination at the MedPark Hospital, click HERE.

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/vaccine-updates-for-expats-hospital-extends-hours-to-accelerate-vaccinations

[aussie_]

I went to MedPark Hospital Bangkok yesterday for jab 1 of AstraZeneca. We left Pattaya at 9.00am and were back at 3.00pm with a stop each way. The staff at the hospital were excellent and i was only there for one hour including the rest period after the vaccination. 

I took my older friend to Pattaya Bangkok Hospital last week as they had AZ vaccines for existing and past patients. Similarly the process was flawless. These hospitals are very well organized for the vaccinations and the staff friendly and well trained.

[Ruthrieston]

I have an appointment at MedPark Hospital on Saturday 7th August. Any tips on where to enter the Hospital for the vaccination would be appreciated. 

[aussie_]

3 hours ago, Ruthrieston said:

I have an appointment at MedPark Hospital on Saturday 7th August. Any tips on where to enter the Hospital for the vaccination would be appreciated. 

The following is from the email sent by MedPark Hospital to confirm my appointment. We parked in the underground hospital carpark and they sent a golf cart to take us to the vaccination entrance. If you are being dropped off at the front entrance of the hospital by a taxi, the vaccination entrance is on the right hand side of the building at ground level. It is not a large complex of buildings like some hospitals and it is a short walk to the vaccination entrance.

1. For those who are driving to the hospital, MedPark has arranged for free 3-hour parking at the adjacent The PARQ located only 30 meters from the hospital. From The PARQ, please exit from G level by the Starbucks or KFC exit and proceed to the hospital via a short walk. Kindly note, parking at The PARQ will be closed at 20.00 hrs. Therefore, please park at the hospital if your appointment is scheduled from 17.00 hrs onwards.
2. Please enter the Covid-19 Vaccination Entrance, an entrance directly facing The PARQ, you will be asked to present your original copy of current passport, along with your confirmation email at this point. You will be given a queue and a plastic sleeve which will be used twice during the vaccination process to prevent bacteria and cross contamination between patients, while we take your blood pressure before and after the vaccine shot.
3. Proceed to the Registration Desk. Please keep your passport out for this as we take you through pre-vaccination steps, e.g., taking blood pressure, signing Vaccination Consent Form, etc.
4. The vaccine will be given after the preliminary steps have been completed. You will be asked to remain under observation for 30 minutes.

[Ruthrieston]

Thank you very much aussie_. I emailed the hospital three days ago but never received a reply, so I really appreciate you giving me this useful information. I am looking forward very much to getting my first vaccine dose tomorrow. 

[anddy]

On 8/4/2021 at 12:52 PM, reader said:

At MedPark Hospital, health officials are administering the Pfizer

really, they have Pfizer already?

[Guest]

3 hours ago, anddy said:

really, they have Pfizer already?

And are they giving it to anyone other than their own staff ?

[aussie_]

4 hours ago, z909 said:

And are they giving it to anyone other than their own staff ?

When i registered Pfizer was becoming available for foreigners over 60yo or with underlying diseases later this week. The appointments were at night so I opted for a midday AstraZeneca jab as i was traveling from Pattaya.

From  https://thailandintervac.com/

The new vaccine appointment method will be via booking in advance or “pre-registration” with the following hospitals.

As of today, the Pfizer, AstraZenec, and Sinovac vaccines  are available. The target groups in the current phase is for:
- People 60 years old and above
- People living with any of the following underlying diseases:
1. Severe Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs)    2. Coronary artery disease (CAD) 3. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) (5th stage) 4. Cerebrovascular disease 5. Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy 6. Diabetes 7. Obesity (weight > 100 kg or BMI > 35 kg/m²)
-  Pregnant women, in which gestational age is 12 weeks or above. The pregnant women must have a medical certificate from the hospital confirming that vaccination is allowed.

Hospitals in which Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Sinovac vaccines can be pre-registered include:
 -MedPark Hospital, Bangkok  Click
- Bumrungrad Hospital, Bangkok 🇬🇧English 🇨🇳Chinese 🇯🇵Japanese 📣NEW
- Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital, Bangkok Click 📣NEW
- Bangkok Hospital (Headquarters), Bangkok Click 📣NEW

[Ruthrieston]

All went very well at MedPark Hospital on Saturday. A lovely hospital, very efficient and great staff working hard. My four hour round trip from Pattaya using my favourite taxi firm was good. At the hospital it all took one and a half hours, including the half hour observation time after getting vaccinated. I am so grateful to have had the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. I was given an appointment for 30th October to receive the second dose. I shall give it two to three weeks and then decide whether I feel safe enough to finally meet with friends again having kept to myself since the start of April. 

[spoon]

1 hour ago, Ruthrieston said:

All went very well at MedPark Hospital on Saturday. A lovely hospital, very efficient and great staff working hard. My four hour round trip from Pattaya using my favourite taxi firm was good. At the hospital it all took one and a half hours, including the half hour observation time after getting vaccinated. I am so grateful to have had the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. I was given an appointment for 30th October to receive the second dose. I shall give it two to three weeks and then decide whether I feel safe enough to finally meet with friends again having kept to myself since the start of April. 

Hopefully the friends you are meeting is also vaccinated as we can still catch the virus and spread it. Malaysia had just announced relaxation for those who have received two vaccine for at least 14 days. They further refined the relaxation by states status. Basically for states with high cases and hospitalization as well as lower vaccination rate, many of the relaxation does not apply. Some of the relaxation are dine-in, crossing district, long distance spouses and long distance parents-child below 18.

[reader]

From Pattaya Mail

Foreigners living in Pattaya and surrounding areas can apply for vaccines via BHP online form

40 years old and over foreign residents can now fill in the survey form and select your preferred vaccination program as per link below.

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya invites foreign residents to ascertain their appropriate vaccine within the following criteria:

-Foreign residents aged 40 years and over. OR

-Pregnant Female foreign residents with gestational age at least 12 weeks or over OR

-Foreign residents who have had at least one of these the following 7 underlying medical conditions:

1. Severe chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs)
2. Coronary artery diseases (CAD)
3. Chronic kidney disease (CKD, 5th stage)
4. Cerebrovascular diseases
5. Cancer patients receiving chemotherapy
6. Diabetes
7. Obesity (weight > 100 kg. or BMI > 35 kg/m²)

To ensure your eligibility, you need to present your Medical Certificate from the Authorized Hospitals showing your medical condition which meets the above inclusion criteria.

-AND have never received any other COVID-19 vaccine

This survey is only to ascertain the number of vaccines needed. The hospital cannot specify the number and vaccine type including the date and time of vaccination.

The hospital will contact you via the provided mobile number once the vaccine is available, locations of your vaccinations and will allocate vaccines in accordance with the conditions in numerical order.

In this survey, you can select your preferred vaccination program as per link below from 20 – 27 August 2021 only.

Survey link: https://forms.gle/wc8BfpbGNx7fpp8h6

Or visit www.bangkokpattayahospital.com

https://www.pattayamail.com/news/foreigners-living-in-pattaya-and-surrounding-areas-can-apply-for-vaccines-via-bhp-online-form-369171

[reader]

From Reuters / MSN

Thailand develops robotic system to squeeze out more vaccine doses

Reuters/JUARAWEE KITTISILPA A vaccine extraction machine called AutoVacc, designed by the Chulalongkorn University's Biomedical Engineering Research Center to extract extra doses out of AstraZeneca vaccine vials, is seen in Bangkok

BANGKOK (Reuters) - As Thailand struggles with its worst coronavirus outbreak yet, researchers in the country have developed a machine to draw out COVID-19 vaccine doses more efficiently and optimise lower-than-expected supplies.

Using a robotic arm, the "AutoVacc" system can draw 12 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in four minutes from a vial, according to researchers at Chulalongkorn University, who made the machine that has been used at the university's vaccination centre since Monday.

That is up 20% from the standard 10 doses drawn manually, they said. The machine only works on AstraZeneca multi-dose vials currently and labels show each vial can provide 10 to 11 doses.

"The machine guarantees with accuracy that we can gain an extra 20% from each vaccine vial - from 10 to 12 doses," said Juthamas Ratanavaraporn, the lead researcher of the team at the university's Biomedical Engineering Research Center.    "The extra 20% that we get means that if we have AstraZeneca for 1 million people, this machine can increase the number of doses to 1.2 million people," said Juthamas.

Continues with photos

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/thailand-develops-robotic-system-to-squeeze-out-more-vaccine-doses/ar-AANICqt

 

[Guest]

I wonder how they do this ?

My guess is it's merely an automation of a process someone started in Finland (if I remember correctly).

Obviously if the syringe is filled with the vaccination, some of the fluid remains in the end of the syringe and the needle & is wasted. The nurse in Finland was drawing just enough air into the syringe to fill that volume.  As the syringe is above the arm, it's just the air that remains in the syringe after injection, with no fluid.

Or just controlling tolerances more tightly ?