The unnamed man, a lawyer, received the jab on Tuesday in the same hospital and reported no side effects during the 30 minutes of monitoring afterwards.
He then returned to his home in Thabprik subdistrict but began suffering from chest pain a day later. His family rushed him to the hospital on Wednesday but doctors were unable to save his life.
Dr Suphot Phukaoluan, director of Krabi Hospital, said there is no evidence that the death was caused by the vaccine.
The body has been sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
According to local reports, the man's relatives suspect the vaccine played a role in his death since the deceased was healthy and had no underlying health problems. The family said they will file a case for compensation with the National Health Security Office (NHSO).
The NHSO has announced compensation of THB400,000 in case of death linked to Covid-19 vaccination, even if it is subsequently found the death is not directly related to the vaccine. – The Nation
Investigations into 12 of the 28 deaths that have occurred after people received Covid-19 vaccination have concluded their deaths were coincidental to the inoculation, with the other results still pending.
Dr Chawetsan Namwat, director for emergency health hazards and diseases, said experts found that Covid-19 vaccines had nothing to do with 12 of the deaths. They were defined as coincidental events.
Determining the exact cause of death in each case was a time-consuming process and took into account the patients' medical treatment records, autopsy reports and results of laboratory tests, he said.
Of the 12 cases, eight suffered acute coronary syndrome (sudden, reduced blood flow to the heart), one had Immune Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (a blood disease), one a pulmonary embolism (lung blood clot), one purulent meningitis and one an intraabdominal aneurysm.
"The deaths were from severe undesirable symptoms and were not a result of receiving the vaccine… People can rest assured that the vaccines are safe," Dr Chawetsan said.
Undesirable symptoms or side effects could be the body's reaction to foreign substances, and vaccines were foreign substances, he said.
Dr Chawetsan said most people with a chronic illness whose condition was stable could receive Covid-19 vaccines.
Investigations into the 16 other fatalities were still incomplete, Dr Chawetsan said. – Bangkok Post
A Pheu Thai politician told the Thai government to stop its flip-flopping on plans to reopen the country to foreign tourism.
The Phuket sandbox was due to start next month without quarantine for foreigners. Then the center for Covid Situation Administration threw a spanner in the works saying tourists would need to quarantine for 14 days.
Tourists were left with not knowing whether they were coming or going!
Then the tourism minister in one report suggested that the island was not ready to link up with Samui on July 1st and may not even be ready at all.
It was also announced that bars and entertainment would not be reopening on July 1st.
This all led to the Pheu Thai party arranging a public forum about the issue.
Nan politician and party health spokeswoman Dr Chollanan Srikaew told the government to stop flip-flopping.
She said that locals in Phuket should come up with a workable plan not PM Prayut Chan-o-cha whose record so far has been terrible.
If they presented their ideas to Prayut they were bound to be better.
She called for mass vaccination in tourism areas like Phuket as well as mass testing as the keys to moving forward.
Niphon Ekwanich, a Phuket businessman, outlined the devastation caused by the pandemic in Phuket saying that the mini-recovery last year after lockdown was eased was further destroyed by Waves 2 and 3 of Covid, reported Daily News.
A near 400 billion baht business for Phuket - 300 billion from foreign tourists and 70 million from Thai domestic tourists - in 2019 was obliterated.
He called on a "single command" approach of government and opposition MPs like what was experienced during the cave drama in Chiang Rai in 2018.
He wanted everyone to pull together in a united approach for the sake of the nation and tourism.
And he also called for an end to the confusion and conflicting statements coming out of the mouths of government officials every time they speak.
Thailand is currently listed as 'amber' and not 'red'. However, the current third wave outbreak in the country, regulations and confusion, such as that over the C.36.3 or 'Thai variant' of Covid-19, hampers the resumption of anything like normal tourist traffic between Thailand and the United Kingdom in the short term. There are too many onerous restrictions on both sides making it extremely difficult for travellers.
A senior opposition politician in the United Kingdom, this week, called for Thailand to be put on the red list of countries with numerous travel restrictions applied to travellers entering Britain including potential returning holidaymakers. The move relates to the disputed 'Thai variant' of Covid-19 which Thai officials strenuously claim is a false term as it refers to a case that originated in Egypt and a variant which is not in local transmission in the kingdom where 90% of infections, according to the Thai government's medical science agency on Friday, are caused by the British variant of the disease.
Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds launched a blistering attack on the UK Home Office and Home Secretary Priti Patel for failing to designate Thailand as a 'red list' country as he cited the danger posed by the Thai Covid virus variant of the disease which officials in Bangkok insist is false and not locally transmitted here.
The main opposition party in the United Kingdom is calling on the government there to further restrict holidaymakers travelling to Thailand under the country's traffic lights foreign travel scheme over what British media are referring to as the 'Thai variant' of Covid-19.
Last Friday, the Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds launched a blistering attack on the UK government's policy which had placed Thailand, for the moment, under an amber listing because of the latest and devastating third wave outbreak in the kingdom.
Mr Thomas-Symonds accused UK authorities of being 'reckless' for failing to protect the country against the 'Thai variant' which health officials here say is false
He accused UK authorities and Home Secretary Priti Patel of being reckless and allowing the country to become vulnerable to new variants of the disease.
The context of this is the Indian variant which is sweeping the United Kingdom at the moment and is threatening a full reopening of the country despite its successful vaccination campaign which is acknowledged worldwide.
Despite objections from Thai officials and the government in Bangkok, the British media has insisted on referring to the C.36.3 variant as the 'Thai variant' of the Covid-19 virus even though it was first detected in an Egyptian national while in quarantine after travelling to Thailand and then passed on by the kingdom's public officials to international bodies.
The virus variant was designated as under investigation by UK authorities on May 24th last with 117 cases identified, 37% of whom had been among travellers returning to the country.
UK politician conflated the 'Thai variant' and the recent surge of infections in Vietnam due to a hybrid
On Friday, the Labour Party front bench member went further and suggested the Thai variant was also responsible for a surge of infections in Vietnam.
The party spokesman, without evidence, suggested it was linked with the Thai variant of the disease.
However, the variant now striking Vietnam is a 'hybrid' of the disease combining both the Indian and UK variation which a top Thai doctor, Dr Wasun Chantratita of the Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, warned this week is quite 'dangerous' and something that Thailand must guard itself against.
Vietnam has seen a worrying spike in recent weeks after being among a list of countries which, up to that point, had been left relatively unscathed by the pandemic with daily infection numbers in single or lower double digits.
Called for Thailand to be placed on the 'red list'
Mr Thomas-Symonds criticised the UK government's use of the amber designation in the three light system saying it was not designed to prevent the importation of what he termed another dangerous strain.
'It is beyond reckless that countries with worrying Covid variants and rising case numbers were not added to the Red List on Thursday 3 June, at the very least,' he said, referring to Thailand. 'There is a terrible sense of déjà vu witnessing yet more variants reaching the UK, outbreaks of the variant first discovered in Thailand is in addition to those of Brazil, South Africa and India.'
Thailand currently listed in the 'amber' category along with most countries in the world which means some restrictions making travel difficult enough
The Labour Party politician, who is also a barrister and a member of the House of Parliament for Torfaen in Wales, called on the Home Secretary Ms Patel to at least put Thailand on the red list.
The traffic lights indicative system currently shows Thailand in the amber category.
This means that anyone travelling to the United Kingdom including returning holidaymakers will be required to take a Covid 19 test before departure and the result must be negative.
'Red list' means returning passengers must pay for a 10 day stay in hotel quarantine in advance as well as the other Amber measures already imposed
They will also be required to book Covid-19 tests on days two and eight on their return to Britain, complete a passenger locator form and self-quarantine for 10 days.
If Thailand was to be put on the red list, then all passengers, including returning holidaymakers, would be required, in addition, to quarantine for 10 days in a government-approved hotel and pay for their stay in advance before travelling or returning home.
The announcement of a 'Thai variant' caused considerable disquiet among officials in the kingdom when reported at the end of May.
Thai officials express frustration with the UK over the categorisation of C.36.3 variant as the 'Thai variant'
A key official with Thailand's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) Dr Udom Kachindhorn pointed out that the new strain had not been detected in local transmission within Thailand.
He said bluntly that authorities in the United Kingdom should have consulted with Thai officials before making their announcement.
Dr Udom pointed out that a sample of the new variant had not been sent to public health officials in the kingdom.
Indeed, this Friday, the Thai Department of Medical Science confirmed the dominant strain of the virus in the kingdom is the 'Alpha' strain or what was previously know as the UK variant which sparked the lethal third wave of the virus in April.
It is thought to have originated in Cambodia and now accounts for 90% of all infections.
Should be termed the 'Egyptian variant'
The variant is one of the growing list that is being looked at by health experts across the world.
Public Health England, the executive arm of the UK health services, did confirm that the C.36.3 variant was not more infectious than normal nor did it render any vaccines ineffective.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, the Director-general of the Thai Department of Medical Sciences also came out against the use of the term 'Thai variant' after it was reported in the United Kingdom.
'In principle, the origin was in Egypt. So it could not be called the Thai variant. It should be called the Egypt variant,' he declared.
Onerous restrictions on both sides for potential tourists from the United Kingdom to Thailand
For UK nationals thinking of visiting Thailand for a holiday, this is just another impediment.
For the majority of potential travellers, even the current Amber coded measures are simply too burdensome.
There are also restrictions on the Thai side with all potential foreign tourists to Thailand requiring a Certificate of Entry which must be applied for through a Royal Thai embassy or consulates which takes extensive paperwork in addition to a waiting period and a list of requirements including insurance and a negative Covid-19 test.
After that, only Phuket, from July 1st, is offering a holiday without state quarantine but even here visitors must submit and pay for Covid-19 tests and spend 14 days on the holiday island before being free to travel elsewhere while in Thailand.
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 76 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, June 12th.
This makes a total of 5,323 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 889 still in medical care, and with a total of 31 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April. One new death was announced overnight, although the details were not released.
Additionally, 4,403 people in total have now been released from medical care and fully recovered since this current wave began. 58 people were released yesterday.
The district-level new cases were as follows today:
Mueang Chonburi with 11, Si Racha 48, Banglamung (including Pattaya) 11, Panat Nikhom 1, Sattahip 3, and Pan Thong 2.
The details on the cases are as follows:
1. Cluster at the Suksawat Pansadej Ice Plant Co., Ltd., in the Si Racha District, 20 cases (All were people being tested for a second time after a previous negative test that had been in quarantine) 2. Cluster at the Kaset Ruam Jai (Baan Thung Market), in the Si Racha District, 12 cases 3. Infected person from Bangkok who lives locally 1 case 4. Infected person from Samut Prakan Province who lives locally, 1 case 5. A person in a "high-risk" occupation that has high exposure to the public 1 person 6. A close contact of a confirmed patient from Chachoengsao Province, 1 person 7. General close contacts: 7.1 18 family members 7.2 9 co-workers 8. Close contacts under investigation: 2 cases 9. 11 cases under general investigation A total of 202 contact searches were received today, 1,116 of initial proactive searches,
On the last day, a total of 202 close contacts were tested from contact tracing, and 1,116 people were tested in proactive testing when medical staff goes out into the community. All are pending results.
In regards to the ice factory cluster, local ice factory owners have been reinforcing to the community that ice cubes are safe and people should not fear purchasing ice cubes, you can read more about their statements below:
Phuket prepares to reopen the island to international tourists from July 1, though a longer quarantine period was recently added.
The Phuket sandbox tourism scheme faces a chaotic approval process as the government is still struggling to fine-tune the balance between public health and the economy.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha reasserted that the reopening plan for the island, known as the Phuket sandbox, will start on July 1 after it was approved in principle by the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) on June 4.
However, it still requires confirmation from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), which scheduled a meeting on June 18, before submission to the cabinet for final approval on June 22.
Yuthasak Supasorn, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor, said the last step is publication in the Royal Gazette, which should be announced in the final week of June to meet the scheme timeline.
The CCSA and CESA were established to tackle urgent tasks concerning the spread of Covid-19 and the economic impact in the country.
This agenda has already been discussed on several occasions, including in meetings with subcommittees of CCSA and the Department of Disease Control.
Following those discussions, the entry procedures saw a major revamp in recent weeks, such as the extension of the mandatory stay in Phuket from 7 days to 14 days, as well as the requirement for three Covid swab tests.
Surapong Techaruvichit, managing director at Asia Hotel Group, said the international market might gradually pick up to 30-40% of 2019 levels by the middle of next year, but a total recovery remains far off as long as the government tries to find the right balance between health and the economy.
"We have to operate the sandbox as if we are starting from zero. Some provinces trying to reopen may find local tourists shy away from their destinations," he said.
"It might take some time to build up tourism confidence."
Regarding the CCSA decision to end state quarantine (SQ) facilities for Thai returnees from July, Mr Surapong said not many SQ hotels remain as occupancy plunged following the third wave.
Some SQ hotels, like the Asia Hotel Pattaya, have transformed into "hospitels", which are projected to receive fewer guests in the coming months if the vaccine rollout continues to administer more than 200,000 doses per day, as happened this week.
"Even though we joined both the SQ and hospitel programmes in the past year, most properties could not post a profit. It just reduced the cash burn rate per month," he said.
"The best we can hope for now is domestic tourists returning in October."
Mr Yuthasak said the TAT acknowledges there is growing concern and discontent among the private sector about the additional measures for tourist destinations to reopen, which could discourage visitors in the initial stages.
He insisted the tighter screening measures are necessary, as the Public Health Ministry stressed no tourist should be infected while roaming the island.
"We should accept an influx of tourists is unlikely in the third quarter. This sandbox scheme was established as a test run, which means it is a gradual process where we determine the best practices to allow other destinations to follow suit," said Mr Yuthasak.
"It is better to be selective in the beginning rather than risk losing our reputation if tourists acquire the virus while here or at their origin country."
Many foreigners took to the Facebook group "Phuket Sandbox – Better Phuket By I Asia Thailand" to express discontent and opposition to the latest regulation that requires international tourists to stay in the province for 14 days under the sandbox scheme before they can travel to other provinces.
The Centre for Economic Situation Administration last Friday approved the launch of the Phuket tourism sandbox from July 1 after the centre changed the requirement from a 7-day mandatory stay to 14 days to ensure foreign visitors are free of Covid-19.
Under the scheme, foreign tourists who can verify they have been fully inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly directly into Phuket and move around freely in the province without having to quarantine.
After staying in Phuket for 14 days and still testing negative, they can then travel to other provinces in Thailand.
"Staying in Phuket for 14 days is too long and requires more money," said one of the group members. "In the end many tourists who can't afford this will cancel their trips altogether and this will eventually hurt Phuket's local businesses."
Many others posted that due to the prolonged-stay requirement, they decided to switch their destinations from Phuket to nearby countries.
Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said last week that the Phuket sandbox is a pilot scheme to find and test suitable measures to be used in other top tourist provinces.
"There will be an evaluation within the first month with focus on the number of infections from foreign tourists," he said. "If the infection rate does not increase, we could adjust down the requirement to seven days to attract more tourists."
Pipat also said the 14-day requirement is only mandatory for those who wish to travel to other provinces.
"Those who plan to travel within Phuket for seven days or less and then return home can still do so," he said. – The Nation
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 47 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, June 11th.
This makes a total of 5,247 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 872 still in medical care, and with a total of 30 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April.
Additionally, 4,345 people in total have now been released from medical care and fully recovered since this current wave began. 58 people were released yesterday.
The district-level new cases were as follows today:
Mueang Chonburi with 18, Si Racha 9, Banglamung (including Pattaya) 12, Ban Bueng 1, Pan Thong 4, Nong Yai 1, and two patients were transferred from another province to Chonburi for medical care.
In an opinion piece Thai media Daily News posed a question:
Who is going to take responsibility if opening schools results in a further spread of Covid-19?
They said that the government and CCSA need to listen to the voices of the people.
But exactly what those views are is anyone's guess.
The schools were due to open for Semester 1 mid-May but the third wave of the pandemic soon put paid to that with June 1st mooted.
With the pandemic still raging and the vaccine rollout shambolic and slow this was put back further to June 14th especially for larger schools.
This despite attempts to introduce 44 protocols as part of "Thai Stop Covid Plus" an initiative that teachers, parents and pupils have no understanding of.
Now schools out of the directive reach of the Education Ministry or who have ability to decide their own fate are deciding not to reopen until at least the beginning of next month.
This has already been announced in all schools in Chonburi and private ones in the Hua Hin area. Schools in Bangkok are expected to follow suit.
The situation is further exacerbated by different color zones in different areas of the country. Some areas are still experiencing clusters of infection and fear is rife.
Others never have or have few worries and just want to see a return to normal.
There is utter confusion.
The vaccination program has reached some but by no means all teachers and admin staff. It certainly has not reached parents who are in the younger age groups than those already prioritized.
And no one is vaccinating children.
Many parents are desperate for their children to get back to school.
While others are still petrified they will bring Covid-19 home from class.
Teachers don't know what to do and are struggling in a cyber world of online learning they have never been properly prepared for.
And it appears that the government have priorities elsewhere. Their rhetoric is to get children back learning, but critics say they care more about money and trying to woo tourists than concentrate on the youth of the nation.
The education ministry, under a new leader after the last one was barred from government on sedition charges, is providing scant leadership and seems totally out of its depth and clueless.
The result is a kind of limbo.
Where few know what is going to happen in the coming weeks, few understand the measures and many are just mulling unpleasant scenarios while being given conflicting information.
