Thai government urged to buy more vaccine doses at any cost as the only way out of a growing crisis Senior analyst at Bangkok based research institute says it may take 4 to 6 months to control according to testimony from epidemiology experts. Thai Examiner

Thai government urged to buy more vaccine doses at any cost as the only way out of a growing crisis

Joseph O' Connor

Government's handling of the vaccination campaign is being openly criticised for being too short-sighted and lacking ambition. One analyst has said the government can have 'no excuses' for failing to deliver the required vaccine doses to reopen on time as other countries in Southeast Asia have managed to do.

Top Thai business leaders are urging the government's economic team to prioritise the procurement of vaccines no matter how high the cost may be to deal with the current escalating Covid-19 virus wave in the kingdom even where this means putting that goal ahead of priming the economy. It comes as a senior researcher with a leading think tank is warning that it could be 4 to 6 months before this current virus wave is brought under control while a top security analyst says the government's plan to vaccinate the main segment of the adult population from August is simply too slow.

Amid both stinging criticism and defence of the government from a range of top officials and business leaders over the current crisis facing the kingdom with record levels of infection, hospitalisations and deaths, some top business people and economic analysts are urging the government to focus on the vaccination drive even ahead of supporting the economy, at this point, as the most cost-effective solution to bringing the country out of the morass it now finds itself in. These include the Vice Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, Kriengkrai Thiennukul (centre right) and Thai Air Asia boss Tassapon Bijleveld (centre left).

Leading Thai business figures are urging the government to adopt a decisive approach to the third and most dangerous wave of the Covid-19 virus which threatens Thailand with a potentially deeper economic crisis than it faced last year.

Most agree that the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha must loosen the purse strings and breach the legal 60% of GDP limit set by law for public debt while all agree that the priority must be in speeding up the procurement of vaccines at any cost.

Senior analyst at Bangkok based research institute says it may take 4 to 6 months to control according to testimony from epidemiology experts

It comes as Nonarit Bisonyabut a senior researcher at the Bangkok based Thai Think Tank, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), has predicted that this virus wave could take four to six months, based on the evidence of expert epidemiologists, to bring under control. 

'The third wave is serious, setting highs for new infections and deaths. We are still unsure whether or when the government will be able to contain the outbreak,' he said this week.

Financial supports for vulnerable businesses and those impacted by another domestic downturn 

Like other economic experts, he is suggesting the government immediately introduce financial support for small and medium-sized firms, those involved in the informal sector and individuals who are most vulnerable.

The problem for the Thai government is the period may be longer than the previous two waves even without broad lockdowns of the economy as the public itself imposes its own self lockdown as the threat of the virus rises with record levels of infections and deaths.