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This stupid government is so fucked-up. If Prayut don't go more Thais will die.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2150423/fate-of-100m-dose-vaccination-hangs-in-the-air

 

Fate of 100m-dose vaccination hangs in the air
Leaked letters show AstraZeneca may not be to blame for shortfall
published : 17 Jul 2021 at 18:21

 

c1_2150423_210717181023.jpg

A health worker holds a vial of AstraZeneca vaccine at a gymnasium inside Thammasat University in Pathum Thani on June 7, the day Thailand started its mass inoculation campaign. (Reuters photo) 

 

Leaked correspondence between the Thai government and the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca has raised a big question about the former’s commitment to administer 100 million doses by the end of this year.

 

Isra News Agency on Saturday posted a letter sent by Sjoerd Hubben, vice-president for global corporate affairs of AstraZeneca Inc, to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul 22 days ago.

 

The letter explains to the ministry that the most Thailand would get from the European drugmaker’s local contract manufacturer would 5-6 million doses a month, which is consistent with their earlier discussions.

 

Siam Bioscience Co Ltd, a company owned by His Majesty the King, was retooled to manufacture the vaccine. The government subsidised 600 million baht for the upgrade and officials later said the company would pay back the sum in the form of shots.

 

The letter caught many by surprise since the government had repeated many times that 100 million doses would be administered by the end of the year to inoculate at least 70% of the population, with 61 million of them being locally produced AstraZeneca.

 

On various occasions, the government assured people that AstraZeneca would supply at least 10 million doses a month for the rest of the year.

 

The question that naturally followed is what vaccines the government would buy to achieve that goal, especially when all sides have agreed that Sinovac, which is the most readily available, cannot effectively shield against the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Sinovac also costs at least four times more than AstraZeneca.

 

According to the letter, the Ministry of Public Health to date has placed two orders for 61 million doses of AZ vaccine in total. The first, concluded in January this year, was for 26 million doses, and the second, closed in May this year, was for 35 million doses.

 

These 61 million doses were part of the 175 million that Siam Bioscience has been contracted to make. Thailand is to get 34.9% of its output, or 5-6 million doses a month. The rest will be shipped to other countries, AstraZeneca says in the letter.

 

Furthermore, the letter revealed that in early September last year the government was committed to buying only 3 million doses a month. Therefore, AZ says it hopes Thailand should be pleased that it is now receiving 5-6 million doses a month.

 

The company also mentioned that it had urged the government back in September last year to enter the Covax vaccine-sharing facility, along with buying directly from manufacturers. Thailand is one of a handful of developing countries that have not joined Covax.

 

The dates when the agreements were actually concluded, as mentioned in the letter, also raised eyebrows. It showed the agreement for the second batch of 35 million doses was concluded as recently as May this year, even though the third wave has been raging through the country since the start of April.

 

Mr Anutin told Isra that Thailand had in fact reserved the supply early this year. In any case, the cabinet approved the budget for it on March 5 and it took two months after that to sign the agreement.

 

Dr Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, on July 2 was the first to reveal the shortfall of AstraZeneca supplies.

 

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha also admitted on Thursday that AstraZeneca would not be able to deliver all 61 million doses under the two contracts until May next year. The original deadline was supposed to have been December.

 

Contrary to what people had assumed earlier, he said 10 million doses a month was in fact Thailand’s capacity to vaccinate people, not the number of vaccines it would get from AstraZeneca. He said the company had seen the vaccination plan but had said nothing.

 

The revelation had led some Thais to think it was AstraZeneca that had failed to honour the contract, potentially derailing the country’s immunisation plan.

 

The Opposition even urged the government to exercise its authority under the vaccine law to ban exports of Thai-made vaccines when there are shortages in the country.

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12 minutes ago, Yamato said:

This stupid government is so fucked-up. If Prayut don't go more Thais will die.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2150423/fate-of-100m-dose-vaccination-hangs-in-the-air

 

Fate of 100m-dose vaccination hangs in the air
Leaked letters show AstraZeneca may not be to blame for shortfall
published : 17 Jul 2021 at 18:21

 

c1_2150423_210717181023.jpg

A health worker holds a vial of AstraZeneca vaccine at a gymnasium inside Thammasat University in Pathum Thani on June 7, the day Thailand started its mass inoculation campaign. (Reuters photo) 

 

Leaked correspondence between the Thai government and the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca has raised a big question about the former’s commitment to administer 100 million doses by the end of this year.

 

Isra News Agency on Saturday posted a letter sent by Sjoerd Hubben, vice-president for global corporate affairs of AstraZeneca Inc, to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul 22 days ago.

 

The letter explains to the ministry that the most Thailand would get from the European drugmaker’s local contract manufacturer would 5-6 million doses a month, which is consistent with their earlier discussions.

 

Siam Bioscience Co Ltd, a company owned by His Majesty the King, was retooled to manufacture the vaccine. The government subsidised 600 million baht for the upgrade and officials later said the company would pay back the sum in the form of shots.

 

The letter caught many by surprise since the government had repeated many times that 100 million doses would be administered by the end of the year to inoculate at least 70% of the population, with 61 million of them being locally produced AstraZeneca.

 

On various occasions, the government assured people that AstraZeneca would supply at least 10 million doses a month for the rest of the year.

 

The question that naturally followed is what vaccines the government would buy to achieve that goal, especially when all sides have agreed that Sinovac, which is the most readily available, cannot effectively shield against the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Sinovac also costs at least four times more than AstraZeneca.

 

According to the letter, the Ministry of Public Health to date has placed two orders for 61 million doses of AZ vaccine in total. The first, concluded in January this year, was for 26 million doses, and the second, closed in May this year, was for 35 million doses.

 

These 61 million doses were part of the 175 million that Siam Bioscience has been contracted to make. Thailand is to get 34.9% of its output, or 5-6 million doses a month. The rest will be shipped to other countries, AstraZeneca says in the letter.

 

Furthermore, the letter revealed that in early September last year the government was committed to buying only 3 million doses a month. Therefore, AZ says it hopes Thailand should be pleased that it is now receiving 5-6 million doses a month.

 

The company also mentioned that it had urged the government back in September last year to enter the Covax vaccine-sharing facility, along with buying directly from manufacturers. Thailand is one of a handful of developing countries that have not joined Covax.

 

The dates when the agreements were actually concluded, as mentioned in the letter, also raised eyebrows. It showed the agreement for the second batch of 35 million doses was concluded as recently as May this year, even though the third wave has been raging through the country since the start of April.

 

Mr Anutin told Isra that Thailand had in fact reserved the supply early this year. In any case, the cabinet approved the budget for it on March 5 and it took two months after that to sign the agreement.

 

Dr Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, on July 2 was the first to reveal the shortfall of AstraZeneca supplies.

 

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha also admitted on Thursday that AstraZeneca would not be able to deliver all 61 million doses under the two contracts until May next year. The original deadline was supposed to have been December.

 

Contrary to what people had assumed earlier, he said 10 million doses a month was in fact Thailand’s capacity to vaccinate people, not the number of vaccines it would get from AstraZeneca. He said the company had seen the vaccination plan but had said nothing.

 

The revelation had led some Thais to think it was AstraZeneca that had failed to honour the contract, potentially derailing the country’s immunisation plan.

 

The Opposition even urged the government to exercise its authority under the vaccine law to ban exports of Thai-made vaccines when there are shortages in the country.

 

no one is willing to shed blood like in 1973, so how to change things?????

 

wahahahahhaha

 

Verso

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Turbulent-Thailand/Thailand-s-Prayuth-slammed-for-poor-handing-of-delta-outbreak?utm_campaign=GL_asia_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=1&pub_date=20210719190000&seq_num=17&si=44594

 

Thailand's Prayuth slammed for poor handing of delta outbreak
Inability to get vaccines fast leaves nation vulnerable as COVID cases top 400,000

 

img%5D
Thai protesters march toward the Government House in Bangkok on July 18, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a mandatory vaccination policy and reform in the monarchy.   © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerJuly 19, 2021 14:35 JST

 

BANGKOK -- Criticism of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's government is growing as Thailand's mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak becomes clearer with the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.

 

Once seen as a model for containing the pandemic, Thailand has joined Indonesia and Malaysia among those hardest hit by the delta strain in Southeast Asia. Cases reported in the region's second-largest economy exceeded the 400,000 mark on Sunday, with average daily infections passing 10,000 recently.

 

On Monday, Thailand reported 11,784 cases -- a new record for the fourth straight day -- along with 81 fatalities.

 

Bangkok is the epicenter of the recent outbreak. A lockdown that has been in place since July 12, with a curfew from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., will be tightened and extended to more provinces from Tuesday.

Public gatherings involving more than five people have been banned. But the measures have failed to stop hospitals from being swamped by newly infected patients. Many were recently forced to sleep in the open near a hospital on the Rama 2 arterial road, awaiting treatment.

 

Vaccine shortages have made the situation worse. Although the government has approved several vaccines, its inoculation program relies heavily on locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine made by Siam Bioscience, a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

 

Leaked letters between Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and AstraZeneca raised doubts about the government's capacity to secure enough vaccine. "Based on our best ability to forecast monthly supplies while the supply chain is still very new, we believe that in an average month with uninterrupted manufacturing Thailand [Ministry of Public Health] will receive approximately five to six million doses," wrote Sjoerd Hubben, AstraZeneca vice president of Global Corporate Affairs, in a letter dated June 25.

 

"I hope you will be pleased that this is nearly the volume we discussed during our meeting on [Sept. 7], when your team estimated that Thailand's healthcare system required approximately three million doses per month," he continued.

 

Anutin wrote back on June 30, "We are expecting to receive more than one-third of the supply from AstraZeneca as mentioned in your letter or at least 10 million doses per month for our domestic use, hence a more constructive and serious discussion on this matter is urgently required."

 

The letters were posted by local media ISRA News on Saturday and quickly spread on the Internet. Prayuth has occasionally told Thai citizens that his government would secure 100 million doses of AstraZeneca by the end of the year. The letters suggest no such contracts have been reached.

 

img%5D
A health worker administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to a woman at the Central Vaccination Center in Bangkok on July 14.    © AP

 

Of the 174.6 million doses AstraZeneca was contracted to manufacture in Thailand, 34.9% will be provided to Thailand and the rest will be exported to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan and the Maldives, according to the leaked letter from AstraZeneca. Asking to allocate more vaccine to Thailand would create diplomatic conflict.

 

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha told the English-language Bangkok Post on Thursday that AstraZeneca had asked Thailand to extend the timeline for the delivery of 61 million doses from the end of the year to next May. The delivery schedule in the letter suggests that AstraZeneca never committed to completion of delivery by the end of this year.

 

In the letter, AstraZeneca also advised Thailand to join the U.N.-backed COVAX, the vaccine-sharing program mainly for middle-income and poorer countries. Thailand is among a handful of countries that have not joined the mechanism.

 

Failure to secure enough vaccine will leave residents of Thailand vulnerable to the pandemic for longer than anticipated.

 

In the Thai medical community, there is a heated debate between virologists and the government on mixing shots from different manufacturers. Chulalongkorn University professor Poovorawan suggested administering AstraZeneca vaccines to those who have received China's Sinovac vaccine for their first dose.

 

The epidemic in Indonesia, which has relied heavily on the Sinovac shots, offers evidence that they may not provide sufficient protection against the delta variant. The idea of mixing vaccines, which the World Health Organization has advised against, may not be possible in any case without timely delivery of the AstraZeneca shots.

 

Reflecting the recent missteps, a nongovernmental research organization, the Thailand Development Research Institute, published a report critical of the Prayuth government. The report is a midterm assessment of Prayuth's four-year term.

 

"With the government's mistakes in containing the disease and management of vaccinations, Thailand has entered a health and economic crisis once again, to the extent that it has lost the opportunity for a speedy recovery and a competitive edge on the global stage," the report said.

 

"Someone must be held accountable for such mistakes, it added. "Fact-finding and in-depth analysis should be sought by establishing an independent committee to learn from the mistakes and prevent a repeat."

 

Such a committee was set up after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, to strengthen the country's financial system. The institute's suggestion hints that the pandemic could be as politically devastating as previous crises in Thailand.

 

The report is only one of many criticisms the government has faced. Defying the lockdown, roughly a thousand of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets on Sunday, calling for Prayuth's resignation, a cut in the monarchy's budget, using the military to improve the COVID-19 situation, and securing mRNA vaccines. While marching to Government House, the demonstrators and some journalists were hit by police water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Several were left injured.

 

On July 7, an opposition political party formed by veteran politician Sudarat Keyuraphan launched an online petition attacking the government's handling of the delta epidemic. The campaign had collected 650,000 signatures as of Friday.

 

img%5D

The government of Prayuth Chan-ocha has countered criticism by further curtailing freedom of speech in Thailand.   © Reuters

 

The Prayuth government has responded to complaints by further clamping down on free speech. On July 10, the government updated the emergency decree's clauses on free speech.

 

The decree now outlaws "distortion of information and news that causes misunderstanding during the emergency; presentation and dissemination of news in books, published material, and other media that contains messages that incite fear in the public; or intentionally distorting information to create misunderstandings that impact state security, peace, and public morality."

 

Human rights group Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw), points out that the emergency decree in place since March 2020 only prohibited the presentation of fake news and false information about the COVID-19 that causes panic.

 

The National Press Council of Thailand, the News Broadcasting Council of Thailand, the Thai Journalists Association, the Thai Broadcast Journalists Association, the Society for Online News Providers, and the National Union of Journalists jointly expressed concern that the new wording would harm press freedom.

 

On Thursday, Seksakol Atthawong, assistant minister at the Prime Minister's Office, and Sonthiya Sawasdee, adviser to the House Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights, filed charges against Sudarat for inciting unrest and defamation.

 

Sudarat called Prayuth's government "murderous" in her petition drive, slamming the government's management of the COVID-19 crisis. Seksakol called the criticism inaccurate and defamatory.

Edited by Yamato
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Had booked my Moderna vaccine months ago which is supposed to arrive in October. Looking at the current situation (1) Delta variant spreading, (2) the government's interference in private hospital buying of vaccines, (3) lies and more lies from government's promises my conclusion is its too risky to wait for the promised Moderna if it will ever come in October at all. So last week decided to go for Sinopharm as an interim measure while waiting for Moderna.

 

Today went to have my first shot of Sinopharm

 

Arriving at the hospital it was quiet and not many people
img%5D

 

No chaos, everything in order
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After registration queue for injection 
img%5D

 

Injection room
img%5D

 

Finally got my jab
img%5D

 

Second injection appointment 4 weeks away
img%5D

 

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https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2151387/ccsa-enacts-travel-curbs


CCSA enacts travel curbs
Checkpoints set up in 13 'dark red' provinces
published : 20 Jul 2021 at 04:00 newspaper section: News writer: Post Reporters

 

c1_2151387_210720061417.jpg

 

The departure hall at Suvarnabhumi airport is almost completely deserted on Monday after the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand banned airlines from operating fligths to and from 'dark red' zones, including Bangkok, on Sunday. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

 

Checkpoints are being set up to restrict people's movements in 13 'dark red' zone provinces in a bid to control the severe wave of Covid-19 infections, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

 

Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA, said checkpoints will be up and running in the 13 provinces and along roads linking the 13 provinces with their neighbours around the clock as tighter restrictions come into force on Tuesday.

 

4035691.jpg

 

Dr Taweesilp said people need to show required documents when passing through the checkpoints, including ones that display QR codes when they register with https://covid-19.in.th

 

"Any inconveniences are to restrict travel," he said. "Unless totally necessary, don't leave home."

 

"You can expect inconveniences [should you travel]," Dr Taweesilp said.

 

The movements of people in the 13 provinces will be restricted, while those who seek to visit 'dark red' zones must have a proper reason and will be screened upon entry, he

said, adding that the toughened measures will be in place for at least 14 days or until Aug 2.

 

These 13 provinces comprise Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Chon Buri, Chachoengsao, Ayutthaya and the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla and Yala.

 

All but three have been in lockdown since July 12. Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Ayutthaya were designated as 'dark red' zones on Sunday.

 

Members of the public in these maximum control zones are urged to work from home and avoid unnecessary travel even outside the 9pm-4am curfew hours.

 

Shopping malls, department stores and community shopping centres are closed except for supermarkets, drug stores and vaccination stations in their premises.

 

4035623.jpg

Six groups of people and businesses are exempted from travel restrictions for reasons of public health and the transport of essential goods.

 

Dr Taweesilp also confirmed an announcement by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand saying domestic flights out of Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports would stop operating from tomorrow.

 

He said the capacities of public transportation services will be halved from tomorrow.

"We'll go full throttle in the next 14 days," Dr Taweesilp said. "The surge in infections is mostly in these provinces and if the toughened measures work, [new] Covid-19 cases are expected to decline."

 

Citing projections from Mahidol University's faculty of environment and resource studies, Dr Taweesilp said the daily caseload would rise to almost 32,000 cases if action was not taken.

 

Based on the projections, with interventions to curb the virus transmission, the daily caseload would now be between 9,018–12,605, he said.

 

4035627.jpg

 

The country on Monday recorded an all-time high of 11,784 new Covid-19 cases, along with 81 fatalities. Monday marked the fourth consecutive day the new caseload broke records, with the previous daily high of 11,397 reported on Sunday.

 

According to the CCSA, Bangkok logged the most new infections -- 2,134 -- followed by Samut Sakhon (765), Chon Buri (615), Saraburi (494) and Pathum Thani (485).

 

The capital recorded 26 deaths, while the remainder were distributed among 26 other provinces, according to the CCSA.

 

New infection clusters were reported in Chachoengsao (60), Sa Kaeo (55), Lop Buri (23), Phatthalung (16), Samut Sakhon (22), Chon Buri (21) and Pathum Thani (16).

 

The board of the National Health Security Office on Monday approved a plan to procure more than 8.5 million rapid antigen test kits worth about 1 billion baht for distribution to the public.

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On 7/17/2021 at 8:30 PM, Yamato said:

This stupid government is so fucked-up. If Prayut don't go more Thais will die.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2150423/fate-of-100m-dose-vaccination-hangs-in-the-air

 

Fate of 100m-dose vaccination hangs in the air
Leaked letters show AstraZeneca may not be to blame for shortfall
published : 17 Jul 2021 at 18:21

 

c1_2150423_210717181023.jpg

A health worker holds a vial of AstraZeneca vaccine at a gymnasium inside Thammasat University in Pathum Thani on June 7, the day Thailand started its mass inoculation campaign. (Reuters photo) 

 

Leaked correspondence between the Thai government and the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca has raised a big question about the former’s commitment to administer 100 million doses by the end of this year.

 

Isra News Agency on Saturday posted a letter sent by Sjoerd Hubben, vice-president for global corporate affairs of AstraZeneca Inc, to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul 22 days ago.

 

The letter explains to the ministry that the most Thailand would get from the European drugmaker’s local contract manufacturer would 5-6 million doses a month, which is consistent with their earlier discussions.

 

Siam Bioscience Co Ltd, a company owned by His Majesty the King, was retooled to manufacture the vaccine. The government subsidised 600 million baht for the upgrade and officials later said the company would pay back the sum in the form of shots.

 

The letter caught many by surprise since the government had repeated many times that 100 million doses would be administered by the end of the year to inoculate at least 70% of the population, with 61 million of them being locally produced AstraZeneca.

 

On various occasions, the government assured people that AstraZeneca would supply at least 10 million doses a month for the rest of the year.

 

The question that naturally followed is what vaccines the government would buy to achieve that goal, especially when all sides have agreed that Sinovac, which is the most readily available, cannot effectively shield against the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Sinovac also costs at least four times more than AstraZeneca.

 

According to the letter, the Ministry of Public Health to date has placed two orders for 61 million doses of AZ vaccine in total. The first, concluded in January this year, was for 26 million doses, and the second, closed in May this year, was for 35 million doses.

 

These 61 million doses were part of the 175 million that Siam Bioscience has been contracted to make. Thailand is to get 34.9% of its output, or 5-6 million doses a month. The rest will be shipped to other countries, AstraZeneca says in the letter.

 

Furthermore, the letter revealed that in early September last year the government was committed to buying only 3 million doses a month. Therefore, AZ says it hopes Thailand should be pleased that it is now receiving 5-6 million doses a month.

 

The company also mentioned that it had urged the government back in September last year to enter the Covax vaccine-sharing facility, along with buying directly from manufacturers. Thailand is one of a handful of developing countries that have not joined Covax.

 

The dates when the agreements were actually concluded, as mentioned in the letter, also raised eyebrows. It showed the agreement for the second batch of 35 million doses was concluded as recently as May this year, even though the third wave has been raging through the country since the start of April.

 

Mr Anutin told Isra that Thailand had in fact reserved the supply early this year. In any case, the cabinet approved the budget for it on March 5 and it took two months after that to sign the agreement.

 

Dr Nakorn Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute, on July 2 was the first to reveal the shortfall of AstraZeneca supplies.

 

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha also admitted on Thursday that AstraZeneca would not be able to deliver all 61 million doses under the two contracts until May next year. The original deadline was supposed to have been December.

 

Contrary to what people had assumed earlier, he said 10 million doses a month was in fact Thailand’s capacity to vaccinate people, not the number of vaccines it would get from AstraZeneca. He said the company had seen the vaccination plan but had said nothing.

 

The revelation had led some Thais to think it was AstraZeneca that had failed to honour the contract, potentially derailing the country’s immunisation plan.

 

The Opposition even urged the government to exercise its authority under the vaccine law to ban exports of Thai-made vaccines when there are shortages in the country.

Should bring back thaksin

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