BANGKOK (NNT) - The Private Hospital Association (PHA) has announced that COVID-19 vaccine shots, provided by private hospitals, will be charged at a standard price, including insurance for any side effects.
PHA president Dr. Chalerm Harnpanich said the reason the price will be set the same nationwide is to get as many people as possible vaccinated, not to make a profit.
As for the manufacturers, the US-based Moderna is in the process of applying for registration with Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after submitting its application on April 19th.
He said the PHA will gauge the demand for paid vaccinations and inform the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), which purchases the vaccine supplies from manufacturers. The private hospitals should not open vaccination bookings until they secure their supply, to avoid confusion.
Dr. Chalerm said, before the price can be determined, the cost of the vaccine must be known, adding that talks were also being held with insurance firms, and coverage would start right after the first of two doses are administered. The insurance would then be valid for 90 days and would not cost more than 100 baht.
Mr Haav says Bangkok is an important centre for business and finance in Asean.
Estonia has chosen Bangkok as one of four new global destinations where Thai business owners and digital nomads who want to expand their reach to the European market can pick up an Estonian e-residency card following a successful application.
E-residency is a government-issued digital identity offered to foreign nationals.
After signing up for the government's e-residency programme, successful applicants receive a starter kit containing digital identity cards that allow them to establish a company online in the EU and have access to a wide range of Estonia's public e-services, such as business banking and online tax filing.
E-residents can run a business from anywhere in the world, however e-residency does not provide citizenship or physical residency benefits, or the right to travel to Estonia or the EU.
Bangkok, along with Sao Paolo in Brazil, Singapore and Johannesburg in South Africa, have been selected as new destinations where e-residency cards can be obtained.
Almost 50 locations worldwide have been chosen as pick-up points.
"The global pandemic has made it very clear that even with physical lockdowns and travel restrictions, people need digital tools for cross-border business and work," Lauri Haav, managing director of the e-residency programme, told the Bangkok Post.
"We decided to reach out and provide improved convenience for the e-residency process."
Over 80,000 people from more than 170 countries have applied for the e-residency programme, with 16,000 firms established in Estonia, he said.
"We have a strong community of e-residents from all over the world, and about 40% of all e-residents are from other EU nations," said Mr Haav.
He regards Bangkok as an important centre for business and finance in Asean.
"It is also a very vibrant and attractive city for both international and local entrepreneurs," said Mr Haav.
"It was clear to us when we started planning our expansion that we needed to establish an Estonian e-residency card pick-up point in Bangkok. The city is a business hub where entrepreneurs from the whole region visit."
He said making Bangkok a pick-up point is expected to help entrepreneurs in both Thailand and neighbouring countries by providing an opportunity to grow their business.
Kersti Kaljulaid, the president of Estonia, said in a statement that even with the pandemic limiting people's ability to travel for work and do business across borders, "it has also accelerated digital transformations among governments, businesses and freelancers alike".
According to Mr Kaljulaid, Estonia is ready to welcome more freelancers, entrepreneurs, business owners and location-independent workers from around the world to join its e-residency programme.
Many questions remain about the latest tax idea on future tourists.
Thailand's minister of tourism and sports has indicated that the long-heralded 300 baht tourist tax on arrivals has been delayed yet again, this time until January 2022. The reason given is the obvious one: no tourists to tax.
Phiphat Rathchakitprakarn, the minister, said that the tax needed to be collected once foreigners start arriving in big numbers by air, land and sea. In the past the government has justified the idea to offset the awesome costs of foreigners who can't pay their medical bills.
But in reality only about 10 percent of the US$10 imposition is meant to assist Thai hospitals deal with foreign non-payers. The bulk of the fund would be to develop tourism supply chains, repair facilities popular with tourists and act as a general slush fund for "visitor issues".
Most other details are also unclear. If the fee was collected at borders and airports on arrival, the queue chaos would be unimaginable in busy periods. In theory, the cost could be included in the cost of an air ticket – just as the departure tax of 700 baht already is – but this would not separate Thai nationals from the vacationing foreigners.
The tiny pot reserved for non-paying foreigners in hospitals is clearly not meant to insure all foreign arrivals. Hospitals are assuming they would have to bid hopefully to the Thai ministry if a particular patient had left them badly out of pocket. No guarantees though. One could well argue that the high cost of treatment in Thai private hospitals already includes a hidden premium for lost income from non-payers.
Nor is it clear why foreigners who are well-insured already should have to pay more. Government advisers say the 300 baht is really small potatoes in any case and would not be noticed. On the other hand, it would be one more financial hurdle to add to rising airfares, the requirement to have Covid insurance, the need to show pre-visit health documentation and the cost of the 15 nights' compulsory quarantine for all.
So far as is known, the proposed travel tax has been given committee approval following a feasibility study by Naresuan University which studied similar taxes in other countries. But the plan has not yet been endorsed by the Cabinet, nor (of course) sent to the Royal Gazette for public consumption. Whether the ambiguous tax is actually implemented next year remains a 50-50 issue as Thailand's tourist industry remains firmly in the doldrums.
FILE PHOTO: An empty hotel and beach which have opened for visitors is seen in Karon, Phuket Island, Thailand March 31, 2021. Picture taken March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand expects to offer the Moderna vaccine to most of its population soon as it steps up the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, a health official said on Saturday.
The latest drive comes amid growing public criticism of the slow rollout of free vaccinations offered by the government, which stands at 1.73 million shots so far - less than 1% of its population.
Health authorities have yet to start mass vaccinations even as the tourism-reliant country struggles with a third wave of infections.
The government expects 61 million shots of AstraZeneca to be produced locally from June. But these vaccinations and those from Moderna will not be offered free.
Moderna last month applied for vaccine registration in Thailand, which should be approved soon, said Withoon Danwiboon, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization.
"What we expect from Moderna is its commitment on how soon they will bring in their vaccine," he said.
India's Bharat Biotech has started the application process for vaccine registration while China's Sinopharm has yet to apply, he said.
Thailand has so far approved the vaccines of Sinovac Biotech, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand would try to secure more vaccines, on top of existing orders of about 65 million.
"Our current target is for 100 million doses of vaccines, but Thailand should have 150 million doses or more," he posted on his Facebook page on Saturday.
Thailand's latest outbreak has been exacerbated by the highly transmissible UK coronavirus B.1.1.7 variant, leading to more than 52,000 infections and 288 fatalities in just over five weeks.
On Saturday, 2,419 new coronavirus cases were reported, with 19 new deaths.
($1 = 31.04 baht)
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Panarat ThepgumpanatEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
The new round of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen a surge in the numbers of infections and deaths, has led to feelings of depression in most Thai people, a survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University,or Suan Dusit Poll, reveals on Sunday.
The poll was conducted online on May 3-7 on 1,894 people throughout the country to compile their opinions on ways of dealing with Covid-19.
In terms of risk in the current Covid-19 situation, 41.55% thought they were among the average group of people regarding risk of contracting the virus; 22.18% thought they were in a high-risk group; 21.54% thought they were low-risk; and 14.73% were uncertain.
Asked how they felt while following updates about Covid-19, 82.47% said they felt depressed -- 46.04% to a higher degree and 36.43% at the same level as before. On the other side, 9.66% said they were not worried and 7.87% were less worried.
Asked which of their expenditures had increased since the Covid-19 outbreak began, with each respondent allowed to give more than one answer, 83.94% chose face masks; 73.84% hand sanitising gel; 47.26% water and electricity bills; 45.40% food by home delivery; and 44.07% medicines, vitamins and dietary supplements.
Regarding ways of coping with the new wave of the pandemic, 83.32% said they avoided going to risk areas; 71.96% maintained awareness in daily life; 67.63% followed health guidlines given by doctors or the Public Health Ministry; 65.47% followed information on the pandemic from reliable sources; and 63.15% kept themselves mentally stable.
Asked about their routines to survive the pandemic, 92.12% said they wear face masks while outdoors; 88.27% avoid high-risk areas or crowded places; 87.47% wash their hands frequently; 77.91% stay home and go out only as necessary; and 64.01% take care of their own health by taking sufficient rest and exercise.
The following is a weekly feature article looking at this same time period LAST year in Pattaya and Thailand news.
This weekly feature takes a look back at news from the same period last year (and sometimes different time windows, such as six months or three months) to see how things have changed, following up on the progression of stories, as well as look at potentially broken promises or things that didn't take place as promised in Pattaya and Thailand.
As we publish dozens of stories a week this is a quick way for people to take a look at what the biggest stories were a year ago, as chosen by our editorial team, and how they impact us today and relate to current news. They are in no particular order of importance, however, are in order of publication. This week, we cover the FIRST week of May 2020, from Sunday, May 3rd, 2020 to Saturday, May 9th, 2020. They are roughly in order of publication.
1. Pattaya business owners meet to discuss precautions and measures for re-opening
Did anyone think that one year later such a meeting may be needed again in the near future as once again entertainment venues have been closed for about a month?
2. Restaurants in Pattaya adjust to new dine-in rules and regulations
One year later, dine-in is currently closed completely. Is it time to return to these measures, that some say are over the top, or should they stay closed completely?
3. Pattaya City slightly eases rules on beaches, allows walking and exercise on beach paths
Who would have thought that a year later (yes, this is a reoccurring theme this week) once again the actual beaches, at least in Central Pattaya, are closed to usage but people can walk on the sidewalks?
Air travel estimates slashed by 38 per cent due to 3rd Covid-19 wave
Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai) has adjusted down its estimates of total domestic and international air travel in 2021 to 323,093 flights, a 38 per cent drop from its 518,790 flights estimate at the start of the year.
The steep downward revision follows the fallout from the third Covid-19 wave since late March.
"The rising number of infections in Thailand and overseas has caused domestic and international travel to decline, while the government's measures urging people to refrain from inter-provincial travel would further decrease domestic flights," said Aerothai vice-president Thinnakorn Chuwong.
"However, we estimate that the impact of this wave will last until May and recovery would start slowly from June onwards, coinciding with the period when the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand would ease restrictions on air travel," he added.
"Also the government's Phuket Sandbox campaign would start in July, which could help boost air travel during July to August to around 1,095 flights per day, which would be at the same level as December last year, right before the start of the second wave."
Under the sandbox scheme, tourists who can verify they have been inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly into Phuket and move around freely without having to quarantine. Similar schemes will be applied to other destinations like Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani later when more people have been vaccinated and more preventive measures have been put in place.
"However, if the sandbox campaign is not launched as scheduled, or should there be another wave, Aerothai might have to further lower estimates on total flights throughout the year," added Thinnakorn.
The following is our weekly feature in which we take a look at the top developing stories and things to follow over the past week. We are focusing on what is happening for the second week of May, ending May 15th, 2021.
As we publish dozens of stories a week, this allows our readers to get a quick glimpse of the most important stories taking place and to monitor and follow for the week ahead, as chosen by our editorial team.
This week, we are really only focusing on one major developing story:
1. Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to discuss zone classifications and measures this week
Without a doubt, this will be the biggest story of the week as the CCSA talks about Covid-19 related zone measures currently in place and if any should be lifted or even increased. First, get caught up on what the measures were for the six areas in "Dark Red status". The provinces currently in Dark Red status are Bangkok, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, and Samut Prakan.
The National Security Council and CCSA both announced on Thursday and Friday they plan to review the current measures in place by mid-week next week and make decisions that will likely be announced on Friday, May 14th. A look at the current data shows that of the six current "deep red provinces" most have either worsened or stayed the same. For instance, today, May 8th, 2021, Bangkok had 1,112 new and confirmed cases, Nonthaburi had 217, Samut Prakan had 114 (downward, many of their cases coming from a factory cluster), and Pathum Thani had 93. Chonburi, meanwhile, just had the least amount of cases in a month at 72 and Chiang Mai has fallen to 26 cases.
Additionally, Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin) has risen heavily in the rankings around provinces with Covid-19 with 100 cases today, primarily from a cluster at a factory. The CCSA is sure to examine all of these statistics while making any decisions on further measures or restrictions.
On the bright side, cases outside of Bangkok and surrounding provinces are nearly all seeing a fall or leveling off, showing that the situation appears to be coming under control in those areas. This allows Public Health Department officials to focus primarily on the "dark red" sectors and what measures and strategies need to take place to control the issue.
Thailand is only weeks away from millions of vaccines, according to the Thai government, as locally produced Astrazeneca doses are set to become available by early June and several million more doses of Chinese Sinovac arrive this month, with many going directly to Chonburi and other red zones. Thailand's long-term plan, of course, is to depend on vaccines, but in the short term will have to stop any major spread of the virus.
We should see some proposals around what may happen with current restrictions around Wednesday or Thursday of next week with announcements on final decisions most likely at the weekly press conference Friday morning, May 14th.
