Thread: Phuket vaccination push riddled with confusion and claims

PHUKET: The push to vaccinate as many people as possible before the July 1 deadline next Thursday took another hit yesterday (June 24) as foreigners were turned away from vaccination centres after presenting themselves for their second injection as instructed by Phuket health officials.

While foreigners were being turned away at the vaccination centre set up at the Central Phuket shopping mall, The Phuket News was receiving confirmed reports of foreigners receiving their vaccination injections as previously organised at other centres, including at the Jungceylon shopping center in Patong and at the Angsana Laguna Phuket resort in Bang Tao, Cherng Talay.


The Phuket News also confirmed that some foreigners did receive their second vaccination injection at the Central Phuket centre earlier in the day yesterday, in the morning, before foreigners at about midday were told to come back later “at their scheduled appointment”.

“Check your SMS” one staffer at the processing tables set up in the Central Phuket car park told foreigners arriving yesterday afternoon.


However, many foreigners have confirmed that they have not received any SMS messages at all from the ‘Phuket Must Win’ website ‒ the only way for anyone in Phuket to register to be vaccinated for a state-provided COVID vaccination. The foreigners became aware of their scheduled vaccination appointment only by repeatedly rechecking the website themselves.

Among those presenting themselves for vaccination yesterday were those who were told specifically by health officials on June 3 to ignore the SMS and registration information on the Phuket Must Win website. Many of those foreigners had June 24 as their next vaccination appointment handwritten on their vaccination injection ‘receipt’ provided to them on June 3.


Meanwhile, vaccination of Thai nationals at Central Phuket yesterday proceeded smoothly.


Phuket health officials as of today (June 25) have still not provided any notice to foreigners that their vaccination injection appointments may have been rescheduled.


So far, unlike repeated announcements for different groups of Thai nationals wanting to be vaccinated, Phuket health officials have posted only one sentence announcing that registration of foreigners without work permits is now open through the Phuket Must Win website.


That was on Thursday last week (June 17) ‒ 10 days after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in Bangkok that all foreigners in Thailand ‒ especially including expats and retirees ‒ would be able to register to receive a state-provided vaccine from June 7.

Of note, Phuket officials have never recognised that foreigners would ever be able to register in person at a hospital where their records are being kept, as announced on May 21 by Natapanu Nopakun, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Information and Deputy Spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.


Meanwhile, private organisations, such as Bangkok Hospital Phuket, have posted their own notices to inform foreigners that they may now register to be vaccinated.


Since the announcement last Thursday that non-working foreigners in Phuket can register to be vaccinated, a flood of comments online and direct reports to The Phuket News confirmed inconsistent ability of non-working foreigners in Phuket being able to register to be vaccinated.


Phuket vaccination push riddled with confusion and claims

Sounds like some farang hating jobsworth.

Originally Posted by misskit

Meanwhile, private organisations, such as Bangkok Hospital Phuket, have posted their own notices to inform foreigners that they may now register to be vaccinated.

Trying to look this up but cant find anything.

Ive been registered on the Phuket.win website and of course theres fuckall going on over there.

Originally Posted by misskit

Among those presenting themselves for vaccination yesterday were those who were told specifically by health officials on June 3 to ignore the SMS and registration information on the Phuket Must Win website.

Wonderful organisation.

Essentially, the Thai are so incoherent and incompetent they'd even fuck up an orgasm.

But then, if one appoints officials to posts within their socio-political infrastructure, not on the basis of aptitude, talent, education and expertise, but on the grounds of nepotism, cronyism and plain old graft, I suppose it's inevitable that nothing in their public arena can work effectively.

Originally Posted by Slick

Trying to look this up but cant find anything.

Ive been registered on the Phuket.win website and of course theres fuckall going on over there.

That's odd. I registered on that site last week (16th I think), and was immediately given options for date and time for both does at two locations. Jungceylon in Patong, and Phuket Orchid Resort in Karon (only the first dose available). I made my selection and shortly afterwards was showing as confirmed for this coming Monday (28th).



They've recently reduced the dose interval for AstraZeneca (which I'm having) from 12 to 8 weeks, so I'm expecting a revised second dose date.

Maybe it works for some but not for others based on the place where you are booked to get the jab.

While foreigners were being turned away at the vaccination centre set up at the Central Phuket shopping mall, The Phuket News was receiving confirmed reports of foreigners receiving their vaccination injections as previously organised at other centres, including at the Jungceylon shopping center in Patong

Originally Posted by cyrille

Maybe it works for some but not for others based on the place where you are booked to get the jab.

Could be. This latest round of which I'm part is aimed at resident and non-working Expats. Those with WP's have been invited for doses previously and I believe that most have had their second doses. They were all given Sinovac.

There is money in withholding injections for the local population and selling them to the nonresidential.
They are coming in buses to Samui from Surat Thani and NakornSriTamarat to get their shots..

M'

Originally Posted by PAG

They've recently reduced the dose interval for AstraZeneca (which I'm having) from 12 to 8 weeks, so I'm expecting a revised second dose date.

They did the opposite in Bali. I had my first AZ shot on 30 March, and got a booking for 25 May for the second dose.

The team that distributed it failed to notify everyone that, because the vaccines were free and donated by WHO, they were later obliged to extend the second shot to this week, because the vaccine was more effective when the second dose was delivered at 12 weeks instead of 8.

The local hospital was rumored to be giving vaccines without booking, so I had my second AZ shot at 9 weeks instead of waiting 12.

The information distributed by government is either absent or only distributed in Bahasa. Jungle drums work better.
The vaccine delivery by trained medical staff was very professional, but the government app is a bit patchy.