Vaccines - Covid 19

[Big Boy]

Voting when abroad discussion moved here viewtopic.php?f=35&t=40023

[Ratsima]

In fairness, there are a lot of people resisting vaccination here, but I think that is resistance to Sinovac.

People are facing a tough decision: get vaccinated now with Sinovac's CoronaVac or wait a few months for something the effectiveness of which is better known. My wife has an appointment to be vaccinated tomorrow at Maharath Hospital's vaccination center at Central Korat. This will be CoronaVac. After doing her due diligence she has become quite hesitant and will probably tick the "postpone" box on the Maharath website and wait until she can get the vaccine from AstraZeneca. I'm in the same boat. I have an appointment for June 8th with Maharath, made via their website. This will certainly be CoronaVac. I also have an appointment for July 1st at a different hospital made via the Mor Prom app. This will likely be AstraZeneca's vaccine. Go now, or wait? I'm still not sure.

One Thai take on the issue: Opinion: Take the first vaccine available, for me, that was Sinovac

[dtaai-maai]

I have an appointment for June 8th with Maharath, made via their website. This will certainly be CoronaVac. I also have an appointment for July 1st at a different hospital made via the Mor Prom app. This will likely be AstraZeneca's vaccine. Go now, or wait? I'm still not sure.

For the sake of 3 weeks? Wait!

[Ratsima]

For the sake of 3 weeks? Wait!

I will wait if I have some assurance that it will really be AstraZeneca. That's still not certain.

[Dannie Boy]

For the sake of 3 weeks? Wait!

I will wait if I have some assurance that it will really be AstraZeneca. That's still not certain.

I’d still wait - just keep a lowish profile for those 3 weeks!!

[Ratsima]

I'm now informed by my wife that the Maharath website now allows registrants to pick their vaccine. If you pick AstraZeneca you will be notified of availability.

Thai TV news this morning is full of speculation about AstraZeneca vaccine delivery including questions about what happened to the 1.7 million doses promised by Siam BioScience for delivery in May.

[HHTel]

You just have to look at the data coming out of other countries that are using it. The Seychelles, the most vaccinated country in the world are not doing a great job of protecting themselves against the Indian variant. The reason IMO is their main vaccine was Sinopharm. A similar vaccine to Sinovac but from a different Chinese company. I'd not be at all surprised if the product of both companies come from the same production line.

Also, just this week, it's been reported that the health authorities in China are gearing up for a 3rd dose as they've found that Sinovac loses it's efficacy after 6 months.

[PeteC]

Bring them here!

Hong Kong could soon bin millions of unused vaccine doses

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/21213 ... cine-doses

HONG KONG: Hong Kong may soon have to throw away millions of Coronavirus vaccine doses because they are approaching their expiry date and not enough people have signed up for the jabs, an official warned Tuesday.

Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world fortunate enough to have secured more than enough doses to inoculate its entire population of 7.5 million people.

But swirling distrust of the government as it stamps out dissent -- combined with online misinformation and a lack of urgency in the comparatively virus-free city -- has led to entrenched vaccine hesitancy and a dismal inoculation drive.

On Tuesday a member of the government's vaccine task force warned that Hong Kongers "only have a three-month window" before the city's first batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines go out of date.

"The vaccines all have expiry dates," Thomas Tsang, a former controller of the Centre for Health Protection, told RTHK radio.

"They cannot be used after the expiry date and the community vaccination centres for BioNTech will, according to present plans, cease operating after September."

"The whole world is scrambling for vaccines and it is just not right that we can buy a vaccine overnight and we just have it. What we have is probably all we have for the rest of the year," he added.

Hong Kong bought 7.5 million doses each of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and China's Sinovac.

The latter has yet to be approved by the World Health Organization but was fast-tracked for use by city health regulators.

It also pre-ordered 7.5 million doses of AstraZeneca jabs but scrapped that deal earlier in the year with authorities saying they planned to use the money for second-generation vaccines next year.

So far just 19% of the population has received one dose of either vaccine while 14% have received two doses.

Hesitancy is common even among the city's medical workers. Earlier this month, the city's Hospital Authority revealed only a third of its staff had taken the opportunity to be vaccinated.

There are currently millions of unused Pfizer-BioNTech shots, which must be stored at ultra-low temperatures and have a six-month shelf life.

A total of 3,263,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been shipped to Hong Kong so far but only 1,231,600 have been administered.

Hong Kong's vaccine hesitancy comes as many nearby countries are scrambling to secure enough doses as the coronavirus wreaks havoc.

In recent weeks, some Hong Kong politicians have suggested the city could look to send unused vaccines overseas if take-up does not improve.

Public trust in the Hong Kong government has been at a historic low since Beijing and local authorities cracked down on dissent to end huge and often violent democracy protests that broke out in 2019.

[Big Boy]

It was in the same announcement where they had cancelled 6 of the 7 Hua Hin vaccination points i.e. they will only be using HHH Car Park, floor 10 now, and will have capacity for 2,000/day. maybe we should be having this conversation in the Hua Hin or vaccine thread.

Didn't see that. Not enough demand?

This is the notice I saw, which came from Kulsawek Sawekwannakorn, who is usually as reliable a source as you will find. Maybe my translation let me down for a change

*ยืนยันครับ
นพ.นิรันดร์ จันทร์ตระกูล ผอ.รพ.หัวหิน แจ้งมาว่า สำหรับประชาชนที่ลงทะเบียนเพื่อฉีดวัคซีนโควิดในระหว่างวันที่ 7- 11 มิ.ย.64 จำนวน 5,800 คนนั้น ขณะนี้โรงพยาบาลหัวหิน เตรียมความพร้อมจัดสถานที่ไว้ที่เดียว ที่ โรงพยาบาลหัวหิน อาคารจอดรถสีส้มชั้น 10 โดยจะเริ่มฉีดวัคซีน “แอสตร้าเซเนก้า” ให้กับทุกคนที่ลงทะเบียนไว้ในแต่ละวันตามที่หมอนัด เริ่มทุกวันตั้งแต่เวลา 08.30 น.- 16.00 น. ใครไปก่อนได้ฉีดก่อนซึ่งไม่ต้องกลัวว่าหมอจะฉีดให้ไม่ทันจากคนจำนวนมาก เพราะ โรงพยาบาลหัวหิน มีศักยภาพสามารถฉีดวัคซีนได้ 2 พันคนต่อวัน หลังฉีดแล้วจะให้นั่งพักประมาณ 30 นาที ก็เตรียมพร้อมสถานที่มีเก้าอี้ให้นั่งแล้ว
ส่วนสถานที่อื่นที่ รพ.หัวหิน เคยกำหนดฉีดวัคซีนไว้ เช่น รพ.หัวหิน 3, รพ.หัวหิน 4, รพ.หัวหิน 5, ศูนย์การค้ามาร์เก็ตวิลเลจหัวหิน ศูนย์การค้าบลูพอร์ตหัวหิน ได้ยกเลิกหมดเนื่องจากบางแห่ง เช่น ศูนย์การค้าบลูพอร์ต หัวหิน มีคนลงทะเบียนแค่ 200 กว่าคน ซึ่งก็ต้องแยกบุคลากรแพทย์เตรียมไว้ไม่สะดวก จึงต้องนำคนที่ต้องการฉีดวัคซีนทั้งหมดมารวมกันที่ รพ.หัวหิน ซึ่งสามารถรองรับคนและรถจำนวนมากได้ โดยรถยนต์-รถ จยย.นำไปจอดได้ที่ รพ.หัวหิน และ รร.พาณิชยการหัวหิน ที่อยู่ติดกัน
*และอยากประชาสัมพันธ์เชิญชวนให้กับประชาชนที่มีอายุ 60 ปีขึ้นไป และประชาชนที่มีโรคประจำตัว 7 กลุ่มโรคได้แก่ โรคทางเดินหายใจเรื้อรังรุนแรง, โรคหัวใจและหลอดเลือด, โรคไตวายเรื้อรัง, โรคหลอดเลือดสมอง, โรคมะเร็ง, เบาหวาน และโรคอ้วน ที่ยังไม่เคยลงทะเบียนฉีดวัคซีนโควิด-19 ให้รีบลงทะเบียนได้ที่ Line Official Account “หมอพร้อม” หรือสะดวกนำบัตรประชาชนมาลงทะเบียนได้ รพ.หัวหิน 3, รพ.หัวหิน 4, รพ.หัวหิน 5 ได้ตั้งแต่บัดนี้ ซึ่งยังรับได้อีกจำนวนมาก จากนั้นในเดือน ก.ค.64 นี้ ถึงจะได้ฉีดวัคซีน ครับ..

[hhinner]

^^ Thanks BB. So not enough demand for the other sites. I might get my jab after all.

[hhinner]

I just tried to change my appointment for vaccination at HH hospital but mo Phrom (LINE) says no for June.

However it appears they are taking bookings for July 6 - 9. 10th floor parking building only. Might be worthwhile any farang who wants a shot going along to try to register. There's a desk just outside the main entrance (or was last week).

[PET]

I shall go along to HHH and if my appointment is late July OK by me

[Big Boy]

I shall go along to HHH and if my appointment is late July OK by me

Please let us know how you get on.

[joelle]

2nd dose of AZ after 16 weeks ? I note that Prayut got his after 8 weeks !!??
But of course he Is PM after all

[HHTel]

The data from Oxford identifies that delaying the second dose increases the protection. Doses given less than 6 weeks following the first only gave an efficacy of 54% whereas leaving the second dose for at least 12 weeks following gave an efficacy of 82.4%

On that basis, and bearing in mind that the data is from Oxford and not from Anutin, I believe it's right to delay the 2nd dose.

The reason the article gives is that it's due to shortage concerns. So by accident, they've got it right.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/03/delayin ... shows.html

There are multiple sites with the same info.