Health canada vaccines for travel

Thailand’s Prime Minister has told a press briefing that he has commissioned a study to look into vaccine passports as the country seeks to revive the tourism industry battered by his governments coronavirus pandemic response. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said his government has been mulling the idea of so-called “vaccine passports”, but no target date has been set and tourism operators have complained about lost revenue. He also said his government will proceed with caution , waiting to see how effective vaccines are first in preventing the spread of Covid-19. “I have already ordered the study into vaccine passports so we can be prepared, however it’s also important that we proceed in line with other countries,” Gen Prayut said. Our government is looking into giving people who are vaccinated in Thailand vaccine passports. The passports could  be then used for international travel , he said. Authorities will meet next week to discuss procedures into obtaining ... » Learn More about Thai Government Studies Vaccine Passports to End Quarantine

Thailand’s hotel and Tour operators are pressing the government to scrap quarantine requirements for foreign tourists who have had the covid-19 vaccination in an effort to kickstart the Kingdom’s paralyzed tourism industry. Two leading hotel groups told the Financial Times they supported ending the mandatory 14-day quarantine for non-Thai visitors who could prove they had been vaccinated against Covid-19. “We should be very quickly allowing people who are safely vaccinated to travel without quarantine,” said William Heinecke, chairman of Minor International, Thailand’s largest listed hotel and hospitality group. “There are tremendous numbers of people who won’t come to Thailand, or won’t come to any country that has a quarantine, because it takes too much time.” Tourism is Thailand’s second-largest industry, accounting for about a fifth of gross domestic product. The country sealed its borders to most foreign visitors last March and imposed strict testing and quarantine ... » Learn More about The Scrapping of Quarantine Rules for Covid-19 Vaccinated Tourists

GENEVA: The United Nations (UN) is using the digital government technology behind vaccine passports to help developing countries provide essential services to their vulnerable populations. After a year of Zoom meetings and with vaccinations slowly rolling out, international travel is making a comeback. The demand is there even as the virus lingers. Many, especially from developing countries, need to get to work and send remittances home. Families need to catch up. Countries are getting ready to welcome back tourists. And business deals need to be struck. For this reason, governments are taking a close look at the digital vaccine passport, the post-pandemic equivalent of the yellow fever certificate that could offer the possibility of sidestepping costly reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests and quarantine requirements. The World Health Organization has cautioned against moving too quickly, noting “there are still critical unknowns regarding the ... » Learn More about Vaccine passports are controversial but their technology will bring big benefits to developing countries

Thailand- The following is a quick fact check we have written in hopes that many of our eager readers take a look and understand the current situation regarding tourists visiting Thailand. The Pattaya News gets many, many, many messages a day from people interested in visiting Thailand, with the vast majority from India, Europe, and Russia. Most are “short-term” tourists and therefore could not go through the current process which requires a two-week quarantine at your expense, multiple Covid-19 tests, embassy approval, mandatory insurance, a fit-to-fly certificate, and other “hoops” to jump through. So, we have made an update to our popular previous articles around visiting Thailand. This information is all correct as of February 27th, 2021. Q: Can I come to Thailand now without a quarantine? A. No. Q. I’ve been vaccinated. Can I come to Thailand now without a quarantine? A. No. Q. I’ve been vaccinated. Can I come to Thailand with a “reduced” quarantine, no ... » Learn More about Fact Check: Can tourists come to Thailand now with no quarantine if they are vaccinated?

A government spokesperson said on Thursday foreigners, including migrant workers will have access to safe Covid-19 vaccines. The assurance was given during the daily Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration briefing at Government House. Assistant spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangson said everyone in the country, including foreigners, would have access to vaccines, she said. “Vaccinations will include expatriates and migrant workers. The government intends to offer equal protection,” she said. According to Dr Apisamai, the government has three objectives for Covid-19 vaccination. To reduce Covid-19 illness and deaths, vaccination will be for people older than 60 years and those with chronic diseases. To protect the national health system, recipients will be medical personnel as well as workers and officials tasked with disease control or are in contact with patients. To protect the national economy and society, recipients will be the general public and workers in the service, ... » Learn More about Foreigners Guaranteed Access to Covid-19 Vaccinations in Thailand

METRO Manila’s local government units (LGUs) have effectively and swiftly carried out the rollout and deployment of vaccines in their respective hospitals that led to increased confidence among medical frontliners. Undersecretary Bernardo Florece Jr., officer-in-charge of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said in a statement that the LGUs’ preparation in coordination with the Department of Health (DoH) and compliance with the national deployment and vaccination plan played a key role in the success of the start of the roll-out. “A few days since the vaccination program began, we have seen the significant increase in vaccine confidence among health care workers with some hospitals even running out of stocks,” Florece said. “The local hospitals conducted town halls among their medical workers, conducted simulations, and did an inventory of their resources, so when the roll-out began, they were prepared and there were generally no hitches,” the DILG acting ... » Learn More about Metro LGUs lauded for fast rollout of, increased confidence in vaccines of health workers

Covid-19 immunisation in Thailand will start within a week after the the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines arrive… whenever that is. Health officials initially pushed for Valentine’s Day to roll out immunisations, but no official date has been set and it’s unclear if the vaccine will even arrive this month. Khaosod English says “health officials can’t even agree on Covid vaccine launch date.” Thailand health officials expect the first 50,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine sometime within the next month… or next. The European Union recently announced plans to tighten rules on exports of coronavirus vaccines and potentially blocking shipments to non-EU countries. AstraZeneca’s vaccine would be shipped to Thailand from Italy. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told Khaosod English that vaccinations in Thailand won’t happen until March. On the other hand, Tawee Chotpitayasunondh from the National Communicable Disease Committee told reporters that the AstraZeneca vaccine ... » Learn More about Covid-19 immunisations to start as soon as vaccines arrive… whenever that is

Virology expert Dr Yong Poovorawan , has told a Public Health Ministry briefing to explain why Thailand chose AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine.  Dr Yong is chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University, appeared at a Public Health Ministry briefing in a bid to reassure the public after widespread concern over Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine procurement . “It is impossible for [every country] to get vaccines immediately even when they have enough money,” Dr Yong explained. “The global population is more than 7 billion. Just 50 per cent of population would need 8 billion vaccines since each person has to take two doses. So it will be impossible to vaccinate everybody within this year.” How long before vaccine is approved – and will it be safe? Vaccines usually take a long time to develop in animal and clinical (human) trials, which first need approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Yong. Clinical trials have three steps: ... » Learn More about Expert Reveals Why Thailand Chose the AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine

PARIS : A warning from AstraZeneca that initial supplies of its coronavirus vaccinations to Europe will be lower than expected has sparked fresh concern over the rollout of inoculations, forcing some countries to plan for a sharp drop in deliveries. Friday’s announcement by the British pharmaceutical firm followed another last week by Pfizer, which said it would delay shipments of its vaccine for up to a month due to works at its key plant in Belgium. The companies’ warnings come amid deepening concern over new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) variants, particularly one that emerged in Britain and which is believed to be more infectious than the original strain. Overall, Europe has now recorded more than 692,000 deaths and nearly 32 million infections. The European Union has so far approved vaccines from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech as well as from United States company Moderna. It has not yet approved the vaccine from AstraZeneca and its partner the University ... » Learn More about Warning on vaccine supplies alarms EU

YANGON: Britain and Canada on Thursday (Friday in Manila) imposed sanctions on generals in Myanmar for human rights violations following the military takeover in the Southeast Asian country. The UK foreign ministry said it was imposing sanctions on three junta officials, including the ministers of defense and home affairs, and had begun a review to stop UK businesses working with the regime. “The UK condemns the military coup and the arbitrary detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement, referring to Myanmar’s de-facto leader who was detained in the coup. “We, alongside our international allies, will hold the Myanmar military to account for their violations of human rights and pursue justice for the Myanmar people,” he added. The United States has already sanctioned Myanmar leaders after the February 1 coup. Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau announced a broader sanctions list affecting nine officials in ... » Learn More about Britain, Canada sanction 3 Myanmar generals for coup