Vaccines in Asia

[Guest]

I sometimes ask the lads I meet if they have had vaccines and if so, which ones.

There's quite a mix.  Some have had 2 AZ, some AZ+Pfizer, two had J&J and one has had his first dose of Moderna recently, for a fee.  The one who had Moderna still had the plaster on his arm, having been vaccinated earlier in the day.  Instead of getting it done late last year, when demand was low, he decided to get vaccinated this year, when demand has increased again. So he either had to wait or go privately.  His main motivation was to get vaccinated so he can take flights.

None have admitted to getting Sinovac or Sinopharm.

[gumbleby]

My in-law family had Sinovac + Astra, and recently a Pfizer booster (they live upcountry).

[traveller123]

My partner and I also live upcountry and back in early August were only offered Sinovac followed by Astra which after talking to our Doctor we took.

Typically 3 weeks after our Sinovac jab Pfizer suddenly became available in our area.

Subsequently we have had a Pfizer booster.

[Londoner]

My experience with P was similar;  he too is "a  country boy"...an aging one! In his remote area,  the vaccine roll-out has not been as effective as in the cities. Like traveller123's partner, he was first given the Sinovac and then Pfizer for the second.

But- and here's the rub- he's still waiting for a Pfizer booster, leading to the postponement of our holiday together. I won't take chances with his health, painful though the decision was.

 

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Londoner said:

My experience with P was similar;  he too is "a  country boy"...an aging one! In his remote area,  the vaccine roll-out has not been as effective as in the cities. Like traveller123's partner, he was first given the Sinovac and then Pfizer for the second.

But- and here's the rub- he's still waiting for a Pfizer booster, leading to the postponement of our holiday together. I won't take chances with his health, painful though the decision was.

The last time I looked, people in Thailand were eligible for a booster 3 months after an Astra Zeneca vaccine, or 6 months after a Pfizer vaccine.

The longer interval for the Pfizer vaccine makes perfect sense, if we compare the rate of deterioration in protection, as can be seen in a Public Health England report from September 2021.

[spoon]

We had 6 month wait initially for both pfizer and az, but was scrapped when vaccine supply was no longer an issue, but instead vaccine expiring was. Sinovac receivers had always been able to get booster anytime and it will be mandated here for all sinovac 1st and second doses as well as above 60 for any vaccines, to get booster by mid February or they lose their vaccine completed status. 

[billyhouston]

Here in Chiang Mai my partner, a migrant, received two doses of Sinopharm and is awaiting a booster, which will probably be Pfizer. It's rather more difficult for migrant workers to get any vaccine despite anything the government might say.

[Guest]

I know of "self employed" migrant workers who got vaccines in Thailand and all but one was for free.  

The one who paid didn't want a vaccine until this month.  Had he gone in November, I'm sure he would have got a vaccine for free.   That's when they would vaccinate anyone who walked in.  Including me.

[Midguy1]

I was struck by how many were paying to get their vaccine of choice and were happy to pass up on a free vaccine and wait until their vaccine of choice was available.   From my experience the Pfizer vaccine appeared to be like the iPhone - that's the brand they wanted (from who I met anyway).  I, however,  was happy to receive my android equivalent free vaccine from the British NHS.

[Londoner]

Yes; P paid so that he could get to the front of the queue for Pfizer.  His medical condition should have  made this unnecessary in my view. 

[reader]

From Channel News Asia

Omicron-specific booster may not be needed

CHICAGO: A study in monkeys pitting the current Moderna COVID-19 booster against an Omicron-specific booster showed no significant differences in protection, suggesting an Omicron-specific booster may not be needed, US government researchers reported on Friday (Feb 4).

The study involved monkeys vaccinated with two doses of Moderna's vaccine who were dosed nine months later with either the conventional Moderna booster or one specifically targeting the Omicron variant.

The researchers tested various aspects of the animals' immune responses and exposed them to the virus. They found both boosters produced "comparable and significant increases in neutralising antibody responses" against all of the variants of concern, including Omicron, according to the study, posted on bioRxiv ahead of peer review.

Both Moderna and BioNTech-Pfizer have started testing Omicron-specific boosters of their vaccines in human clinical trials.

"This is very, very good news," Daniel Douek, a vaccine researcher at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who co-lead the study, said in a telephone interview.

"It means we don't need to radically redesign the vaccine to make it an Omicron vaccine."

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/china-argentina-pledge-deepen-partnership-expand-trade-2482431

[reader]

From Ricardbarrow.com

Foreigners can get walk-in shots at Bang Sue

The Central Vaccination Centre (CVC) at Bang Sue Grand Station is offering vaccine shots regardless of which dose it is for both Thais and foreign nationals on a walk-in basis. The Central Vaccination Centre (CVC) at Bang Sue Grand Station is offering vaccine shots regardless of which dose it is for both Thais and foreign nationals on a walk-in basis. The service is open to both Thais and foreign nationals and people can choose what vaccine they want, regardless of what dose they require. Shots will be offered from 9am-4pm daily until the Songkran festival from April 13-15.

[reader]

From Coconuts Bangkok

Don’t close free vaccine clinic in downtown Bangkok

Business groups and an association advocating for Americans have asked the Disease Control Department to reconsider the closure of a conveniently located vaccination center next month.

The Americans in Thailand Association petitioned the department to continue operating the free vaccination clinic on Sathorn Road at the Bang Rak Medical Center where COVID-19 shots and boosters have been readily available for the past 15 months.

“The association disagrees with its closure as Thais and foreigners will have more difficult access to vaccines,” the letter urged disease control chief Opas Karnkawinpong in its letter, a copy of which was shared today with Coconuts. “Moreover, the Department of Disease Control will lose opportunities and achievements accumulated as well as losing one of the best measures to deal with the emergency epidemic situation that still can happen at any time.”

“Last year we were seeing 500 patients a day,” said a representative for the center who declined to give her name. “Now we receive about 100. Sometimes it’s only 50.”

Located near BTS Saint Louis in the Bang Rak Medical Center, the clinic opened May 2021. Free appointments could be made within minutes, but the online system was no longer available as of Monday.

[scott456]

Covid vaccines are plentiful everywhere now.  The vaccines that are in shortage at the moment is Monkeypox vaccine (Jynneos).  You can ask around in Thailand. I bet nobody has it.

[Patanawet]

11 hours ago, scott456 said:

 plentiful everywhere now.  

Really 'everywhere'?

I had 2 X Astrazenica at the so called 'central' station Bang Sue and 2X Pfizer at MBK (Mah Boon Khrong)) . MBK SO handy, efficient and friendly but now closed down (the vaccinations, not MBK).
I do see in an above message that there is a centre near St. Louis so I will give that a try for my fifth (4 months after latest one) rather than the journey to Bang Sue.