Expats are included in Thailand’s vaccination plan

[reader]

6 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Then again, let's not even assume that the signed "contract" was between Thailand and the vaccine manufacturer. I shall entertain the possibility that it could have been between the ministry and some local representative of the vaccine manufacturer

 

On 6/11/2021 at 7:24 AM, reader said:

The government has approved the order of 20 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from US manufacturer, Pfizer. The Bangkok Post reports that the head of the Department of Disease Control signed the contract yesterday.

So now you disregard the facts in an attempt to make your story fit your assumption--aka fake news. 

You're taking a page from The Donald. He'll be flattered you're mimicking his style of manipulating the facts to satisfy your purposes.

Aside from your attempt to entertain, you may take a moment to consider that the government has a bona fide interest in trying to rescue its citizens from grip of the pandemic, even if belatedly.

[reader]

From The Nation

Low immunity after Covid vaccination in some people worries experts

Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the Health Science Centre of Emerging Diseases at Chulalongkorn University, revealed that many people who had received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine for three to four weeks showed no neutralising antibody, or at only 20-30 per cent.

For a vaccine to be effective, the ability to inhibit a virus must be more than 20 per cent to develop immunity.

People who are normally vaccinated will have high, mid and low response, but they have to go up. Inactivated vaccines, such as the rabies vaccine, require three injections on day zero, three and seven and begin to see immunity in the blood around day 10 and develop in all people on day 14. Two injections a month apart are assessed at three or four weeks after the second dose. However, there should be a satisfactory level of growth in everyone, he said.

But, in some groups that were vaccinated on the same day and got the same vaccine, it appears that there was no immunity at all (less than 20 per cent). It is possible that the same lot of vaccines may have been a problem. Some have major congenital conditions, including diabetes that does not enhance the immune system, he said.

Some patients with Covid-19, who have been infected despite having had two doses of Sinovac or one dose of AstraZeneca, were still infected even in the post-injection immunity test, but it was not very high.

In cases where immunity does not increase, or is less than 68 per cent, which is a theoretical number correlated with virus prevention, they may want to consider getting a third dose of vaccine, either the same brand or a new one.

In the case of allergic reactions or side-effects, there is no clear evidence that it increases immunity because it is inflammation through different systems.

The number of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Thailand from February 28 to June 11 totalled 5,975,070 doses -- 4,362,685 first dose and 1,612,385 second dose.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001978

[reader]

From Coconuts Bangkok

Vaccine site for foreigners in Thailand spills names, passport numbers

It took only a few days before the big glitches happened. 

Despite a seemingly positive start to Thailand’s vaccine campaign, a website designed for foreign nationals to register for vaccinations late last week began coughing up their private data, putting scrutiny back on officials who may have been hoping fast jabs would soothe sore spirits.

As recently as last Friday, the website launched to accommodate vaccine registration for foreign nationals, www.thailandintervac.com, was found to be revealing the names, passport numbers and resident provinces of people who registered via the website.

Thai officials have yet to release a statement in response to the data breach. Calls to the Ministry of Public Health on Monday afternoon went unanswered.

The breach did not require expert hacking. On Friday evening, a member of Coconuts Media using the website first discovered the breach by stumbling upon the URL www.thailandintervac.com/profile-summary.php. Every time the page was refreshed, a different foreign national’s information would be revealed. 

That page was soon taken offline and made unavailable over the weekend.

As of Monday afternoon, the website was no longer available — notably a few minutes after expat blogger Richard Barrow called out the incident on his Twitter account.

Although most netizens slammed it as an example of official negligence, some pointed out that the breach may have gone even further than Barrow had reported. Twitter user @IAmKohChang, founder of the popular travel website www.iamkohchang.com, suggested he was able to access the entire database of foreign profiles.

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/vaccine-site-for-foreigners-in-thailand-spills-names-passport-numbers/

[spoon]

Cant say im surprised.

[Guest]

BBC:   "Large number of vaccine appointments postponed in Thailand"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-57466097?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=60c741740c64e002e8105707%26Large number of vaccine appointments postponed in Thailand%262021-06-14T15%3A34%3A25.746Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:bc38f562-8d70-444e-b6e9-893979b72342&pinned_post_asset_id=60c741740c64e002e8105707&pinned_post_type=share

 

 

[reader]

From the Thaiger

Vaccine registration website for expats back up after data leak

The Covid-19 vaccination website for foreign residents is back up after an apparent data leak yesterday where others could see personal information, including passport numbers, of those who had registered for a vaccine. The faulty site is live again, but for us at The Thaiger, the button to set an appointment isn’t working.

Posts of the ThailandIntervac.com data leak were shared on social media by local expat blogger Richard Barrow. Under “user information,” other people’s names, passport numbers and locations were displayed. Richard said that when he clicked on the “edit” button, another name with personal details would appear.

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/vaccine-registration-website-for-expats-back-up-after-data-leak

 

[Ruthrieston]

Allow "smelly farang" to access the vaccine? Not on your life! Thais first!

[PeterRS]

As is clear from reading this thread and those on other forums, Thailand's vaccine policy has been a disaster from the get-go. I realise this post gets close to what is within the rules, but without naming names, the decision of the Health Ministry last year to place the contract to manufacture the locally produced version of the Astra Zeneca vaccine with a company that had never before produced any vaccine of any type whatsoever was a farce. This was especially true given that the Government lab which has produced many different vaccines, some under contract to the WHO, bid for the contract and lost.

The delays in getting that vaccine out shows the lackadaisical attitude of the government. Charitably they were probably lulled into a false sense of security by the very small number of cases last year. Then they dropped the ball and through mismanagement and corruption allowed the present third wave to roll over the country big time. The Prime Minister overruling the advice of his medical experts by permitting travel during Songkran this year was madness given that the wave had in fact started before then. The excuse he is quoted in the media as saying is that the public would not have stood for a second cancellation of Songkran! More madness! Now they have been forced to purchase tens of millions of doses from overseas at goodness knows what price.

Oh, and the fact that the Minister of Health has ambitions to become Prime Minister may or may not have something to do with the debacle!

[vinapu]

23 hours ago, PeterRS said:

Charitably they were probably lulled into a false sense of security by the very small number of cases last year.

not only them. We in this forum throughout 2020 were full of praise how well Thailand is handling covid situation.

 

[Ruthrieston]

I was so grateful and full of praise for Thailand in it's handling of the pandemic for over a year, so few deaths and infections. Now? The arrogance and incompetence of the junta has now come to bite us. If I could afford it I would be on a plane, any plane, back to the UK to access the vaccine. Instead I face isolating myself, not meeting with my friends, until we eventually get access to the vaccine in Thailand, which will be October/November at best for the first dose, at no doubt a hugely inflated cost for farang. I don't care that I will have to pay for it. I do care, very much, that I will be isolated for the next four to five months if I want to stay alive.

[reader]

From Reuters /BP

Hundreds of vaccinated Indonesian health workers infected

JAKARTA: More than 350 doctors and medical workers have caught Covid-19 in Indonesia despite being vaccinated with Sinovac and dozens have been hospitalised, officials said, as concerns grow about the efficacy of some vaccines against more infectious variants.

Most of the workers were asymptomatic and self-isolating at home, said Badai Ismoyo, head of the health office in the district of Kudus in central Java, but dozens were in hospital with high fevers and declining oxygen saturation levels.

Kudus, which has about 5,000 healthcare workers, is battling an outbreak believed to be driven by the more transmissible Delta variant which has pushed up its bed occupancy rates above 90%.

Designated as a priority group, healthcare workers were among the first to be vaccinated when inoculations began in January.

Almost all have received the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) says.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2133987/hundreds-of-vaccinated-indonesian-health-workers-infected

===========================

Covid vaccine advertisements by private hospitals to be tightly regulated

Advertisements for Covid-19 vaccines by private hospitals will be tightly regulated to prevent exaggeration or any statements that may mislead the public. The Public Health Ministry has set regulations for private hospitals offering to order Covid-19 vaccines for customers including guidelines on promoting injection services as well as rules to ensure quality and safety.

Department of Health Service Support director-general Tares Krassanairawiwong says the ministry has issued 5 regulations for vaccination services at private hospitals. Regulations on advertising are meant to protect customers against exaggerated claims and also make sure there is fair competition among the private hospitals offering vaccine injection services, Tares says. The promotions must also make it clear that the injection services sold by private hospitals are an alternative service and the government is providing vaccinations for free.

https://thethaiger.com/news/national/covid-vaccine-advertisements-by-private-hospitals-to-be-tightly-regulated

=================================

From Thai PBS World / Thaiger

Health Department warns: Avoid Covid-19, don’t have sex

Thailand has had a long string of frustrating recommendations for lowering the risk of Covid-19 transmission from curfews to masks to hand sanitiser and social distancing. But a new recommendation from the Health Department may have crossed a line. Avoid Covid-19: Don’t have sex.

The Health Department’s Director of the Office of Reproductive Health made a statement today that is bound to put a kink in people’s… kink. He advised that sex is a health risk during the spread of Covid-19 and people should avoid it.

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/health-department-warns-avoid-covid-19-dont-have-sex

==============================

From Tourism Authority of Thailand

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, reader said:

Health Department warns: Avoid Covid-19, don’t have sex

 

not that surprising considering that both close or rather very close proximity and a lot of heavy breathing is involved

[Guest]

A = Probability of catching covid off an infected individual. 

B= Probability of the other party having covid

Now if  you're having sex, I guess A is near 100%, although it probably varies with time.    B remains quite low.

Probability of getting covid from sex with an individual = AxB -is still quite low.   As long as you avoid orgies or too much sleeping around.    

Or if you live in a country where lateral flow tests are available for free, have your partner take one....

Of course, individuals at high risk should still take care.

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Plan for 16-week gap between AstraZeneca vaccines dropped

Thailand’s plan to milk 2 extra vaccines from each vial of AstraZeneca may have seemed shady, though the technique to do so was safe and did not reduce efficacy, but yesterday the government dropped an actual dangerous plan to cut corners and pump up their vaccination figures. A senior health official confirmed that they were giving up on a plan to boost statistics of how many people have received a vaccine by delaying second AstraZeneca shots to a 16-week gap and instead administering those shots to new patients first.

The government had planned to give people their first dose of AstraZeneca and then wait 16 weeks before administering their second dose. The maximum tested interval between the first and second vaccines is 12 weeks, approved by the European Medicines Agency. So the Thai plan would buy the government a month to give first injections to more waiting people before having to give second doses, thus driving up their figures for who has received at least one vaccines.

The 16-week gap plan could make better-looking statistics but also runs the risk of rendering all the AstraZeneca first vaccines administered essentially useless. No human trials have been conducted on the efficacy of the 2 dose vaccines when administered 16 weeks apart, a full month beyond the maximum gap approved.

Maybe because of this risk, the government backed down on the 16-week plan and will now administer the second dose of AstraZeneca within 10 to 12 weeks of the first dose. The communicable disease committee wants to switch back to their original plan, but the assistant to the Public Health Minister commented that the interval between vaccines could still be extended down the road if needed.

The need to stretch out vaccinations with moves like the 16-week gap distribution has come after local manufacturing of AstraZeneca by Siam Bioscience has stalled with delivery dates pushed back in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Shortages have been reported throughout the country and provinces are prioritising and rationing doses.

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/plan-for-16-week-gap-between-astrazeneca-vaccines-dropped

=========================================

From Tourism Authority of Thailand

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, reader said:

Thailand’s plan to milk 2 extra vaccines from each vial of AstraZeneca may have seemed shady, though the technique to do so was safe and did not reduce efficacy

At one point during the AZN trial, there was an error with dosing and a half dose was given.   The efficacy was higher, even though I am told that is the opposite of what would be expected.  I think they concluded the population who got the half dose was different to the trial average. [Use google if further detail is required]

I believe Sanofi also had a dosing error in their trial last year.

As far as I can tell, regulators only tend to approve what is proven in a trial, so they would be very resistant to common sense decisions, such as reducing the dose for younger people, based on better immune systems and typically lower body mass. 

I don't see why a country facing a known vaccine supply shortage couldn't run a reduced dose trial with some of their first vaccines.    Give 100,000 people full dose & 100,000 the half dose.    Ask them all to report back on a regular basis and sample antibodies from some of the population. 

 

I am not claiming any technical expertise in this topic.

[spoon]

I recalled UK was heavily criticized when they decided to vaccinate majority of the people with one dose first, against the AZ trial 2nd dose at 3 weeks. Turns out the efficacy is better at 12 weeks, and many countries now follow suit. And whats more important is one dose of AZ also gave a very reasonable protection at above 70%. I think other countries are delaying 2nd dose of diff type of vaccines too but too lazy to research. At least one of my friend in a diff country are getting his 2nd dose date nuch later than the recommended 3 weeks for pfizer. 

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, spoon said:

At least one of my friend in a diff country are getting his 2nd dose date much later than the recommended 3 weeks for pfizer. 

I can be that friend, LOL

My first Pfizer was Apr 13 and 2nd was scheduled for Aug 3rd but now they decided to speed up and I will get it on Jun 29th.

As so called rich countries are rapidly approaching full vaccination ( it doesn't mean all will be vaccinated soon but at least all who are willing to, in some countries sizable chunk of population is still refusing and not convinced ) more and more doses will be available for others. Things are fortunately  moving fast , three months ago we were complaining about ineptitude of our government in obtaining enough doses , two months later there were reports of unused doses

[VancBCMan]

On 6/19/2021 at 3:51 AM, spoon said:

I think other countries are delaying 2nd dose of diff type of vaccines too

Canada is one of the countries that delayed administering the 2nd dose. It was initially 16 weeks for the general population - when vaccine supplies were low. With an increased number of vaccines coming in, the interval has been reduced to 8 weeks.

With just the 1st dose, number of cases and deaths dropped dramatically.

About 75% of eligible people have their 1st dose and about 22% are fully vaccinated, and that number is going up fast. So, it looks like the decision by health officials to give the 1st jab to the majority, before starting with 2nd doses was the right one under the circumstances.

[Guest]

On 6/19/2021 at 11:51 AM, spoon said:

I recalled UK was heavily criticized when they decided to vaccinate majority of the people with one dose first, against the AZ trial 2nd dose at 3 weeks. Turns out the efficacy is better at 12 weeks, and many countries now follow suit.

It would appear that the experts in this sector seem to criticize anything that deviates away from what is already proven by trials.   That seems rather conservative.   

Hence countries which have extended the dosing intervals were initially criticized, even if they were later proven to have made the right decision.

There are papers around suggesting dose size is reduced to allow faster vaccination.  Despite evidence that this is might work in sectors of the population, don't expect rapid progress.   

[spoon]

4 minutes ago, z909 said:

It would appear that the experts in this sector seem to criticize anything that deviates away from what is already proven by trials.   That seems rather conservative.   

Hence countries which have extended the dosing intervals were initially criticized, even if they were later proven to have made the right decision.

 

It couldve goes the other way around too, meaning one dose doesnt gives protection and cases goes up since people let their guard down, so much so that instead of giving some protection to many, they give not enough protection to most. And instead, they might need to give those who delayed their second dose additional boosters. But yeah, we all glad it goes well and now many countries follow suit to address the supply shortage 

[vinapu]

6 hours ago, z909 said:

 

Hence countries which have extended the dosing intervals were initially criticized, even if they were later proven to have made the right decision.

  

only after whole thing will be over we will be able to say who was right and who was wrong.

There was a short while when Swedish model seemed to work but it resulted with more death than in neighboring countries.  Thailand was praised for handling pandemic very well but not quite now.

The same may  be with efficiency of vaccines. Nobody is at fault , it's simply not enough time to assess what is the best course of action.

What certainly whole world hopes for is that we will not need all 24 letters of Greek alphabet  before it's over

[Ruthrieston]

I was at the International Hospital in Pattaya this morning for my three monthly check on my diabetes only to find that the hospital will no longer accept bookings for the Moderna vaccine. Sigh. We were told to register with the hospital which holds our records. So by the look of things I shall struggle to even access the vaccine in October.

[reader]

From Bangkok Post

Gap now 8 weeks between AZ doses

A top medical committee has agreed to narrow the gap between doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to eight weeks from 10-12 weeks previously in places where there have been outbreaks of the Delta variant, an official said on Tuesday.

Areas where the more contagious Delta variant, first identified in India, had been detected could "adjust the timing for the second dose," said Kiatiphum Wongrajit, permanent secretary at the public health ministry.

The move comes after the government last week abandoned plans for a 16-week gap between AstraZeneca doses in a bid to stretch vaccine supplies to reach more people.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2136631/govt-to-narrow-gap-for-astrazeneca-shots-in-bid-to-curb-delta-variant

=================================

From Thai Enquirer

Delta variant’s danger and new studies raises questions about Thai vaccine program

The spread of new Covid-19 variants have public health officials concerned with the country’s vaccine program with some vaccines reportedly less capable of stopping or containing the virus.

Most concerning is the Delta variant, which was first identified in India, and has become the dominant strains in some countries. Within a span of six months, it has now spread to at least 74 countries worldwide.

Research shows the Delta variant to be much more contagious and deadlier than previous strains of the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a “virus of concern,” with its chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan saying that it was “on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissibility,” last Friday. 

Thai public health officials warn that it poses a significant threat in Thailand. (Read more here) They also have concerns but the country’s vaccination program in light of the Delta Variant’s dangers.

As of June 19, 2021, around 7.5 million of the Thai population have been vaccinated with either the Sinovac or AstraZeneca vaccine. Five and a half million of those have been vaccinated with the first dose of Sinovac, while 2.1 million have been vaccinated with the second dose.

But the application of the Sinovac vaccine is problematic. Emerging data shows that the current vaccines, especially the ones with lower efficacy rates like the Sinovac, are not effective in stopping the transmission of the Delta variant.

Indonesian officials said this week that more than 350 of its frontline healthcare workers and doctors have been infected, with dozens hospitalized, with the Delta variant, despite being vaccinated with the Sinovac.

https://www.thaienquirer.com/28831/delta-variants-danger-and-new-studies-raises-questions-about-thai-vaccine-program/

====================================

Boosters may be needed

The Public Health Ministry is speeding up a study looking into the need for a third Covid-19 vaccine shot for people who are fully vaccinated as certain coronavirus variants are more infectious than others.

Along with this study, a ministry committee is tasked with assessing whether it is safe for people to be jabbed using different vaccine brands after the initial first shot is given, said Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC) on Monday.

Dr Opas, however, insisted it was still too soon to say whether a booster shot is actually needed and if the shot can come from a different manufacturer.

"Knowledge [about the virus and the vaccines is updated] constantly so we need to wait until we have sufficient information to support any new decisions to make," he said. "We have a team that is following up on this and will decide what will be the most suitable [for Thailand's situation]."

Dr Opas was responding to questions over the need for a booster shot for vaccine recipients in Thailand and whether it could come from a different brand.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2136019/boosters-may-be-needed

================================

From Tourism Authority of Thailand

[Patanawet]

A chance to get a first jab would be nice.

[Guest]

Well, according to a recent Bangkok Post Article, we can see Thailand should have received 12.2 million doses by the end of June, ie next week(schedule below).

According to Ourworldindata.org, they have deployed 10.87 million doses, which is not too far away, if we consider numbers which might be in the logistics chain.

However, there seems to be little coverage of a local manufacturer's performance.  The FT contains a report which states someone was charged for questioning this.    I shall not include a link, but the article was published this month.   

I presume that if they were delivering large quantities of vaccine, there would be extensive favourable coverage.