Almost two years. Frustrated

[sydneyboy1]

I too am a frustrated traveller. I retired 18 months ago with the main aim of travel with trips booked for last year including visits to the UK, Thailand and Brazil that of course did not eventuate.  However we frustrated travellers should put our problem in perspective. In my country people have lost jobs, businesses etc with constant lockdowns and it is the same the world over. They are the ones who deserve sympathy at this dreadful time.

[Ruthrieston]

You are so right sydneyboy1, while my NHS pension is not fantastic, I don't have to worry about how to pay my bills or find money for food while that money arrives in my bank account every month. What the people in Thailand are going through - apart from the 2% who own everything of course - is devastating to watch. As we face another extension to lockdown in Pattaya and the number of infections and deaths continue to escalate daily I can only imagine the appalling financial effects on the people in Thailand. This lockdown will last at least three months I think and I dread to think how many more will be homeless and destitute by then. 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, vinapu said:

I'm kind of optimist as recently I managed to visit country with half of Thailand's population which as late  as April 2021 had almost 30000 cases a day, vaccinations changed everything , at least for time being

I just checked the vaccination status.

According to Our World in Data, Thailand vaccinated about 8.4% of the population in the last month.  That's slow and I guess this includes many who received one of the low efficacy Chinese vaccines.

For comparison, Malaysia managed to vaccinate over 25% of the population last month.

I'd hope the Thai vaccination rate will accelerate, but at the current rate, it will be almost December before they do 50% of the population.  Even that is not enough.

My generally optimistic thoughts about another winter holiday in Thailand have been assuming the country would be past the current wave & re-opening, also underpinned by vaccination of a high percentage of the population. 

I still expect vaccine procurement should accelerate, but at present I'm slightly less optimistic than previously.   

Meanwhile, Israel has just launched booster doses for over 60's, so if this becomes common, then availability of vaccines globally will not improve as much as anticipated.   

[vinapu]

Instead of booster doses they should rather donate or sell them to countries in need of first doses.

Otherwise rich countries will be boosting while poor ones dyin

[Guest]

1 hour ago, vinapu said:

Instead of booster doses they should rather donate or sell them to countries in need of first doses.

Otherwise rich countries will be boosting while poor ones dyin

That is probably the ethical way & is what they should do.  

Considering what they will do, if there is any evidence of declining immunity, prioritising exports ahead of boosters will not win the next election.  So we can guess what happens next.

 

Also, the idea of poor countries being unable to afford vaccines just doesn't stand up to scrutiny, at least in Asia.   

Cambodia has given at least one dose to 44% of the population (GDP per capita $1720)

Thailand has given at least one dose to 17.6% of the population (GDP per capita $7702)

 

The Astra Zeneca vaccine is sold at cost for something like £3-4 per dose and licensed widely around the world.   The total cost of 2 doses per capita of Astra Zeneca vaccine for Thailand would be something like $700million.    Which is nothing, when certain people have many billions of assets.  Or one day on the minimum wage buys both doses (approximately).    Thailand has been busy purchasing useless submarines, instead of ordering vaccines.  

The reason Thailand doesn't have vaccines is not due to cost, it's due to incompetence and complacency.   Had they placed orders, therefore preparing the capacity to manufacture home developed, licensed or imported vaccines in high volume and started over a year ago, they wouldn't need to be scrambling around now.   Instead, we read that part of the Astra Zeneca order was only placed in May 2021, if I remember correctly ?

Admittedly, there are also very poor countries in Africa who might struggle to afford vaccines & are genuinely constrained by cost. 

 

 

 

[ggobkk]

Too much wishful thinking in the world...the virus and its variant offspring are opponents that thrive on wishful thinking that things return to "normal" as vaccination rates increase.  In my part of California, we are back to major masking.  I spoke with friends in Beijing yesterday, and there are outbreaks in Nanjing and Beijing.  

I very much want to return to my my wayward travel schedule and luxuriate in the life I once led as a twice a year tourist in Thailand.  Totally Oz is "thriving" in someways that I envy.

It's been too long...it will be a longer wait.  I hope I'm wrong and the Thai government will get it act together.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, ggobkk said:

Too much wishful thinking in the world...the virus and its variant offspring are opponents that thrive on wishful thinking that things return to "normal" as vaccination rates increase.  In my part of California, we are back to major masking.

From UK experience, even with the Delta variant, the death rate among vaccinated people is a fraction of the pre-vaccine level.   Death rates more comparable with flu, among the vaccinated population.  However, in California, the vaccination rate is just over 50% if I understand correctly ?

Meanwhile, continuing the earlier discussion, Germany announces booster shots.   Also vaccination of teens voted in by politicians, without approval by the regulator, or so it appears ?    No doubt some others here have a more complete understanding of this.   

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-health-officials-recommend-vaccine-boosters-as-well-as-jabs-for-teens/a-58733149

There is some data from Israel showing fading immunity against infection with Pfizer vaccines, which might support the argument for boosters (below).    However when looking at the effect of vaccines on severe infection, the result is much better.

 

[ggobkk]

I'm a week shy of it being six months since I had my 2nd Pfizer.  I anticipate that there will be a booster sometime in the autumn perhaps packaged with a flu shot.