vaccination
- Covid-19 News
Walk-in vaccine centre plan limping, not ready to launch
After proud announcements of walk-in vaccine sites launching in Bangkok and around Thailand, now there seems to be more walking back than walking in. Hospitals were flooded with calls from people looking to book a walk-in appointment to receive a Covid-19 vaccine but were told that there were no jabs currently available. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said that this whole thing…
- Phuket News
Update on Phuket’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign
So far, around 22% of the population in Phuket has been vaccinated against Covid-19, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The island province aims to vaccinate 70% of the population by the end of June to reach “herd immunity”. Officials remain committed to the original plan to reopen to vaccinated foreign travellers by July 1, as ambitious as…
- Covid-19 News
Moderna Covid-19 vaccine now approved in Thailand
The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for emergency use in Thailand. The country’s Food and Drug Administration announced the authorisation yesterday. Thailand’s vaccination started in late February. So far, only the Sinovac vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine have been used to vaccinate the public. The local company Siam Bioscience is now producing the AstraZeneca vaccine in Thailand. The locally-made…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Covid case jump, Airlines ask for loans, Penguin hunger strike over | May 13
4,887 new infections from the past 24 hours, 7 member airlines are pushing for a meeting with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss the option of soft loans, and Chiang Mai has reported a new cluster of Covid-19 after 3 patients lied about being infected.
- Covid-19 News
PM Prayut pushes vaccine priority for the national agenda
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha asked the Thai cabinet to make the Covid-19 vaccine part of the national agenda in order to make it Thailand’s top priority. He urged Thai people through a Facebook post to get vaccinated and not hesitate. The PM reminded people that getting everyone vaccinated to the point of herd immunity is the only way to end the…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | More bubbles?, Burmese journalists arrested, Malaysian lockdown | May 11
Thailand will travel travel bubble discussions with countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Laos and Malaysia. Travel bubbles could start as soon as October, Police in Northern Thailand arrested 3 senior journalists who had fled Myanmar, Thai officials say expats living in Thailand will be included in the government’s mass Covid-19 vaccination plan, but exactly when that will be is still…
- Covid-19 News
Flight booking data shows vaccinations are key to rebooting travel globally
The latest findings from a research firm that analyses flight booking data confirms that vaccination is the key to rebooting international travel. The most recent research from ForwardKeys shows that destinations prepared to welcome vaccinated tourists have seen a surge in bookings. In particular, Greece and Iceland, have had a significant uptake in inbound flights, while countries where mass vaccination…
- Covid-19 News
9 student nurses experience side effects from Sinovac vaccine
After receiving the Sinovac vaccine, 9 student nurses at Thammasat University have complained of side effect according to the Facebook page of the Student Organization of Thammasat University. After 88 student nurses received the Chinese-made vaccine on April 23 and May 5, 2 experienced minor side effects of a little pain in the arm they were vaccinated in, while 7…
- Covid-19 News
“Bangkok Hilton” to make field hospitals for Covid-infected prisoners
Klong Prem Central Prison, in Bangkok, is making field hospitals for Covid-infected prisoners to help curb the spread of the virus. The Corrections Department is converting 5 buildings at the “Bangkok Hilton” in Chatuchak district to operate as hospitals, offering 500 beds in total. The prison would act as a home base for new arrivals who test positive for the…
- Thailand News
Foreign Ministry cautions Thais about vaccine travel to the US
While Covid-19 tourism may sound like an oxymoron, people travelling abroad in order to get vaccinated is a growing trend. But now Thailand’s Foreign Ministry is urging Thai people planning to travel to the United States to get a free Covid-19 vaccine to be cautious and do their homework. They stressed that rules vary from state to state, and not…
- Thailand News
Desparate expats in Thailand turn to vaccine tourism
Travelling overseas just to get a prick used to have a much more negative connotation. But with limited supplies and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines in Thailand, many expats are turning towards vaccine tourism, travelling to another country in order to secure a jab. With recent reports that Thai people will be prioritized and timelines vague for foreigners getting vaccinated, impatient…
- Thailand News
Mor Prom app crashes yesterday as people rush to register for vaccine roll out
The new Mor Prom (doctors ready) app, where people registered under the Thai public health system can register for the next round of Covid vaccinations, has seized up after only one day being live. Before the crash some 300,000 people had registered for the vaccine. There is also a LINE account where people can register. About 1 million people were…
- Expats
Phuket foreigners called out again over “ignoring” Covid rules
Phuket’s foreigners are being called out again over their alleged failures to comply with Covid-19 safety measures. A meeting comprised of high-ranking Phuket officials, and a majority of consuls and foreign government representatives decided that those who are not being “socially responsible” will face legal actions, with the most intransigent being kicked out of Thailand. The meeting yesterday was all…
- Covid-19 News
Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine re-approved in the US
The pause on the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine was officially lifted in the US yesterday by the Centre For Disease Control And Prevention and the US Food And Drug Administration. They will add a warning label about the risk of blood clots, but vaccination can resume today. The CDC’s Advisory Committee For Immunization Practices recommended unpausing the Johnson &…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket requires Covid-19 vaccination or 72-hour test
To help wrangle the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in Phuket, strict controls for everyone entering the island go into effect today until the end of April. The provincial communicable disease committee approved the measures in an effort to stop the proliferation of Covid-19 in the province. The new regulations state that only people who have received both doses of…
- Covid-19 News
PM says safety was the reason behind limited vaccine procurement
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha says the limited procurement of Covid-19 vaccines was for safety reasons, as well as being based on the situation in the country at the time. “Initially, the purchases Thailand made were based on the situation at that time, when we were successful in containing the outbreak.” He was responding to criticism from several quarters about…
- World News
Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia – surprise spikes in Covid infections
For Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, the Covid situation was ‘under control’. Everything was going fine and the countries were mulling re-opening borders to general travel. Well everything was going fine, until it wasn’t. In just 3 bewildering weeks, Thailand has gone from ‘let’s re-open Phuket’ to setting up thousands of field hospital beds. The daily infection totals over the past…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 vaccinations for June still on schedule
Covid-19 vaccinations in June are still set to proceed as scheduled according to the Department of Disease Control. They have ensured that production and distribution is on track, especially with AstraZeneca producing 6 million jabs domestically now. Local production in Thailand is ramping up, with 61 million AstraZeneca vaccines planned to be manufactured domestically by Siam Bioscience by the end…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand approves 8 vaccines for foreign travellers seeking shortened quarantine
Thailand has approved a total of 8 Covid-19 jabs for vaccinated tourists hoping to avail of reduced quarantine on arrival in the Kingdom. Despite a third wave of infections gripping the country, officials are pinning their hopes on the return of international visitors in order to revive the decimated tourism sector. In 2019, approximately 40 million foreign visitors to Thailand…
- Covid-19 News
Thai businesses frustrated over limited choice of vaccines, slow pace of rollout
Business and tourism representatives are expressing growing anger over the slow pace of Thailand’s vaccine rollout and the limited number of vaccines on offer. Their frustration comes as other countries around the world begin to see encouraging results from their vaccination efforts. And, while the latest rise in Covid-19 infections can be partly attributed to the presence of the so-called…
- Covid-19 News
Another 50,000 Covid-19 vaccines arrive in Phuket
50,000 more doses of the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine are now in Phuket, arriving yesterday, bringing the total number of Sinovac jabs received to 100,000. This amount had been promised by Bangkok officials as part of the Thailand reopening plan that begins with Phuket reopening to international travellers on July 1st. In order to do this, 70% vaccination needs to be…
- Tourism News
Phuket’s pilot program to reopen Thailand – Interview Bill Barnett | VIDEO
There’s a lot more of Thailand besides Phuket, but the southern Thai island has received a lot of attention in the past few weeks because of the intention to remove quarantine for vaccinated international arrivals from July this year. There’s a lot at stake as the rest of Thailand will be watching the pilot program, eager to see it work…
- Tourism News
16 German tourists kick off Phuket’s tentative re-opening plans
3 months away and Phuket will be Thailand’s first province to waive the mandatory quarantine stay for foreign travellers who have been vaccinated. Well, that remains the plan as Thailand starts to work through a 4-phase re-opening schedule which will take the rest of 2021 to roll out. The subjects of these re-opening experiments will be the expected tourists who,…
- Covid-19 News
Vaccine certificates in the works for Thailand
With vaccination finally underway in Thailand, some uncertainty still exists regarding vaccine certificates and official paperwork after receiving your Covid-19 jabs. The Public Health Ministry says that they are waiting for the World Health Organisation to release a standardised format for a vaccine certificate before they start issuing them. That form is expected to be released in June according to…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s 4-phase reopening, starting today
This is not an April fool’s joke. Thailand has set a tentative 4-phase plan starting April 1 for reopening the borders, lifting restrictions, and relaxing quarantine periods, allowing international travel to recommence in a safe manner. As always, this a currently a PLAN and has not been confirmed by the Thai government at this stage. The planned rollout has a…
- Tourism News
Some Pattaya businesses oppose quick reopening to foreign tourists
While Pattaya tourist businesses are desperate for borders to reopen to foreign tourists, many local business owners oppose the rush to reopen Thailand. Boonanan Phattanasin, The president of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, which serves many businesses throughout Pattaya, points out that while international tourism benefits the local economy, domestic tourism is booming and businesses that cater to Thai…
- Tourism News
We took a poll in Phuket… re-opening the island in July
The Thaiger put up a poll on our YouTube channel yesterday. Completely unscientific, but trying to guage some of the viewers opinions about the latest plan, Phuket Sandbox, to open up Phuket, in July this year, as a pilot for future re-openings around Thailand for travellers, without quarantine. With the government claiming that the plan won’t go ahead unless 70%…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand aims for 30 million vaccines by August
Thailand is aiming for 30 million vaccines throughout the country by August in a new plan announced by the Public Health Ministry. The vaccinations will take place across all 77 provinces (76 plus Bangkok) in a progressive rollout. 100,000 people have received injections already in the national vaccination schedule, with 300,000 more set to be vaccinated in the next phase…
- Covid-19 News
800,000 doses of Chinese vaccine to go to 22 provinces next month
The Thai government will send 800,000 doses of China’s Covid-19 vaccine to 22 selected provinces from next month. According to a Bangkok Post report, the Sinovac vaccine will be distributed to provinces that fall into 3 groups. The first group consists of 6 provinces that have experienced a resurgence of the virus or where clusters of infections have been reported.…
- Tourism News
Phuket to present reopening plan this Friday with fingers crossed
Phuket is expected to present a reopening plan for approval that would allow vaccinated tourists visit without undergoing quarantine starting in July. The plan will be submitted to the Centre for Economic Situation Administration this Friday. Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, says the Phuket Tourism Sandbox plan can only be successful if the Andaman island achieves…
