Category: Medicine

Thai food exports are expected to continue to grow, as global consumers remain confident about the safety standards of Thai food production, with strict quality controls and preventive measures against contamination from COVID-19.

Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion Somdet Susomboon said that Thai frozen food exports in 2021 are likely to expand by 2 percent in 2021 to more than 140 billion baht.

The department has been working in an integrated manner with both the private sector and other government agencies in upgrading the manufacturing process by issuing COVID-19 preventive measures in food production for export.

In these measures, guidelines have been set for manufacturers, exporters, raw material suppliers, and logistics operators to follow in order to ensure safety for consumers and build confidence about Thai food exports among Thailand’s trading partners worldwide.

Those involved in delivering ingredients from ships and piers must step up their efforts to reduce the risk of contamination from ingredients and containers. Factories must strictly control quality and safety standards in all steps, from receiving ingredients from ships and piers to storing them in cold storage, processing, and packing in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

As for goods transportation, cleaning and disinfecting the interior of the vehicle containers must be carried out, with an emphasis on the personal hygiene of workers and work environment, which also involves location and manufacturing building, sanitation, strict cleaning, and disinfection. Moreover, workers will be provided with training, so that they will have knowledge on how to protect themselves from COVID-19.

According to the Director-General, the private sector, especially the Thai Frozen Foods Association, has responded positively to these measures. Despite the global COVID-19 situation, Thailand still has great potential for retaining its status as one of the world’s major food producers, as it has advanced technology and international standards, in response to the demands of different markets.

Source: The Government Public Relations Department

More than 700 people have volunteered to join a research project, initiated by Thailand’s well known virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan, of the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University, to study the immune response and safety of mixed COVID-19 inoculation, using AstraZeneca and Sinovac.

In his Facebook post today (Saturday), Dr. Yong thanked all the volunteers for their enthusiasm, saying that, just six hours after the call for volunteers, more than 700 people had applied.

He said, however, that he has sought permission, from the Ethical Committee, to conduct the research on just 90 volunteers.

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the cooperation of all the people who have joined all the research projects,” said Dr. Yong, adding that the research on the mixed use of the two vaccines is intended to determine the immune response to the combination of the two vaccines and its safety, so that it can be put into practice if the research is successful.

Doctors normally do not recommend different vaccines for the first and second doses but, in some cases, where a person develops serious side effects after being given one make of vaccine for the first dose, the use of a different vaccine for the second dose is recommended.

Alternatively, in case of a shortage of one kind of vaccine after the first doses, the use of a different kind of vaccine for the second doses is acceptable.

Hence, comprehensive research on the mixed use of vaccines is necessary, before it is put into practice, according to the COVID-19 Data Centre.

Study on a handful of cases of people who received two different makes of vaccine, Sinovac and AstraZeneca, show a significant immune response to the disease.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

New COVID-19 infections in Thailand today (Saturday) surged by 3,667 cases, including 435 cases among prisoners and 32 more deaths, according to the CCSA.

Bangkok still ranks at the top of a list of 10 provinces with high infection rates, logging 1,218 cases, followed by 495 in Samut Prakan, 171 in Samut Sakhon, 167 in Pathum Thani, 145 in Chon Buri, 81 in Nakhon Pathom, 81 in Songkhla, 77 in Nonthaburi, 70 in Phetchaburi and 69 cases in Pattani.

Of the 32 deaths today, 15 were men and 17 women, aged between 40 and 89. 19 of these were recorded in Bangkok, 3 each in Nakhon Pathom and Samut Prakan, 2 each in Phetchaburi and Khon Kaen and 1 each in Samut Sakhon, Chon Buri and Chachoengsao.

Of the 3,667 new COVID-19 infections, 2,095 are among those under treatment and observation in hospitals, 1,105 are among those tested during active screening and 32 are among foreign arrivals in state quarantine.

Cumulative infections, since early last year, are 214,449, including 31,482 patients undergoing treatment in general and field hospitals. The total death toll is 1,609.

Cumulative infections, since April 1st, 2021, are 185,586.

According to the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovations, 7,219,668 doses of vaccines, of 8.5 million distributed, had been administered to people in 77 provinces, including Bangkok, by June 18th.

Of all the vaccines administered, 5,252,531 were first doses, accounting for 7.9% of the population, and 1,967,137 second doses, accounting for 3% of the population.

Phuket recorded the highest proportion of its inoculation being inoculated, with 63.1% having received their first doses.

91.89% of people inoculated did not experience any undesirable side effects while 8.11% developed mild side effects, which included muscle pains (1.95%), headache (1.45%), pain or swelling at the injection site (1.04%), fatigue (0.94%), fever (0.44%), nausea (0.44%) and stomach upset (0.28%).

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Unemployment remains a major issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of public enterprises are helping out by hiring people, who have lost their job or income, and new graduates struggling to find employment. Many people are having to take temporary jobs, rather than wasting time being unemployed.

Thai PBS is one such enterprise, which hired people at its vaccination site earlier this month. Opened last week, the centre is among the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s 25 vaccination sites outside hospitals. About 30 people have been hired.

A former video-cameraman revealed that he has been highly affected by the pandemic. He revealed that, last year, he was laid off from a news channel and became a freelance cameraman. All of his assignments, however, got cancelled. So, he decided to apply for a temporary job as a staff member at Thai PBS’s inoculation site.

“I became unemployed at the beginning of the year. Since the second wave of COVID and now the third, all my freelance work has disappeared. Thai PBS was hiring staff. I applied because I don’t want to stay at home with nothing to do,” said Korakit Inkongngam.

A former ground staff member for an airline said that she had not had any work for a few months already. Therefore, she decided to work as a call centre employee at Thai PBS, which she says, uses her communications skills efficiently.

“My job is communications and service. I have to gauge the tone of people who call, if they want help or are lodging a complaint,” Kanchana Karat said, adding that she has not yet resigned from the airline but the work was mainly paused, with staff rotating in shifts.

Another woman, who now works as a call centre employee, explained that the pandemic has affected her family’s coffee shop in Chiang Mai. She decided to come here because she thinks that finding a job in Bangkok will be a lot easier than in her hometown.

“This job has helped reduce the burden of paying my monthly bills, as I didn’t normally have any income, only expenses,” said Hataikan Tandee.

“I’ve been trying to earn money in several ways. I’m making my own brand of masks, selling my baked goods online and I’m selling whatever is there and can make me money,” she added.

Temporary employees earn 9,000-12,000 baht per month for their 7-month contract.

Meanwhile, a number of government authorities have listed job openings. The Ministry of Labour posted 1,774 job openings, for a one-year contract with an 18,000 baht monthly salary.

The Ministry of Transport will also be posting 546 job openings for 105 departments on July 16th. The Department of Airports may also hire 140 employees, such as information staff, which is still under consideration.

The Department of Employment estimates that 259,878 new graduates will be entering the job market this year, and another 283,432 next. The Thai cabinet, however, only allows 10,000 job postings in government agencies.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Despite the COVID-19 situation, Thai durian exports to China continue to grow, as demand in the Chinese market is still high and Chinese consumers are confident about the efficiency and standards of Thailand’s fruit management.

Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Chalermchai Sri-on stated that the COVID-19 pandemic did not have much effect on Thai fruit exports, since the appetite for Thai fruits in major markets, especially China, remains strong.

He said that the Thai government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has been implementing strict quality control measures for agricultural production at all levels among farmers and traders and in workplaces and the transportation sector, based on the guidelines set by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Mr. Chalermchai said that China had commended Thailand for the safety standards of its fruit exports. There has been no report of virus contamination in Thai fruits or packaging at all. Thailand attaches great importance to the control of COVID-19.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has sent documents in Thai and Chinese to the Chinese Customs Office explaining about the country’s control measures. It has also joined hands with the Durian and Mangosteen Exporter Association in launching campaigns to create confidence about Thai durian production among various trading partners.

Major importers of Thai fruits include China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. From January to April 2021, Thailand exported 213,328 tons of durian, worth 28,615 million baht. Out of this volume, 72 percent was exported to China, 13 percent to Hong King, and 12 percent to Vietnam.

Source: The Government Public Relations Department

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, many groups and organizations volunteered to provide food and beverages to people suffering from economic problems and those in quarantine at home.

• The Office of the Islamic Affairs Committee for the Bangkok metropolis, together with The Sheikhul Islam Office of Thailand, are organizations which provide food, Halal food to be specific, to people in every district in Bangkok.

• They prepare 200 Halal meals each day and each district office of Bangkok will pick them up and deliver them to people in need. Halal food was delivered to people in Suan Luang, Bang Phlat and Bang Sue districts, including communities in Khlong Toei.

• Samai Charoenchang, Central Islamic Council of Thailand, said “We have to ask the district office to deliver the food for us because they have the information about people who live in their areas, whose families in the community are suffering from COVID-19. If we did it by ourselves, we couldn’t do it properly. So we have to have the district office help.”

• “The budget that we use to run this project is from donated money from 186 mosques all over Bangkok, including the general public, from Buddhists, Christians and Muslims. So we use that money to cook Halal food.”, He added.

• Khlong Toei is a large district in Bangkok which contains around 40 communities. It is the site of one of the clusters of COVID-19 infections during this third wave. People who live in the area have to stay at home and many Muslims, who live in Khlong Toei, have been short of Halal food.

• Imam Abdullah Daveloh, the leader of Nurul Hidayatil Islam mosque, said that “Muslims in the Khlong Toei area do not own the land. The land belongs to the Port Authority of Thailand. So, everyone here is a tenant. Muslims in Khlong Toei do not just live together in one community. They are spread out over many areas. They account for only 10-20% of the population of Khlong Toei. So, we don’t know if there are any Halal food shops in the area, because most of them are rented homes. So Halal food is not easy to find in Khlong Toei.”

• However, Halal food is not only provided for Muslims. Non-Muslims can also have the Halal meals. As Samai said that “Halal food is for everyone, not just for Muslims, because the pandemic doesn’t only strike Muslims. We are Thai people, we have to help each other. We won’t abandon anyone.”

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha stated that the Government aims to fully reopen the country within the next 120 days.

The statement was made on 16 June 2021 and was televised on the Television Pool of Thailand. It informed the people of the progress of mass vaccination against COVID-19 and Thailand’s roadmap following its recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

In his statement, the Prime Minister said that Thailand had agreed to secure COVID-19 vaccines from six manufacturers, namely Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, and AstraZeneca. It had also signed contracts to procure 105.5 million doses of vaccines to be delivered to the country before the end of this year. Additional vaccines will be secured next year, as well.

He reaffirmed that more than 10 million doses a month would be offered to the people. If there are enough vaccines, 50 million people will receive at least the first dose by early October 2021.

The Prime Minister said, “The time has now come for us to look ahead and set a date for when we can fully open our country and start receiving visitors, because re-opening the country is one of the important ways to start reducing the enormous suffering of people who have lost their ability to earn income. I am, therefore, setting a goal for us to be able to declare Thailand fully open within 120 days from today, and for tourism centers that are ready, to do so even faster. The only exception to these guidelines will be if a truly serious situation develops or seems likely to develop, and we will look at those situations on a case-by-case basis.

“I know this decision comes with some risk because when we open the country there will be an increase in infections, no matter how good our precautions. But, I think, when we take into consideration the economic needs of people, the time has now come for us to take that calculated risk. The priorities for our country must now advance to the next level.

“Our national policy must now evolve and we must look on this virus just as we would on the many other diseases that are in the world and with which we must learn to live. We have seen that this virus is not going to go away quickly. We have to come to terms that it will continue to be around in the world and in Thailand for some time. We cannot wait for a time when everyone is fully vaccinated with two shots to open the country or for when the world is free of the virus. We must be ready to live with some risk and just try to keep it at a manageable level, and let people go back to being able to earn a living. That is the policy that I have set.”

Source: The Government Public Relations Department

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday apologized again for the widespread postponements of vaccination appointments across the country, and for misunderstandings surrounding the government’s vaccine management, while making promises of more vaccines to be delivered to fulfill the goal of having 70% of the population vaccinated by year end.

Last week, he offered his apologies as postponements were made at the start of the mass inoculation campaign nationwide on June 7th.

In his Facebook post today, the prime minister said he takes full responsibility for all the problems adding, however, that a problem may occur any time, especially during the initial period when COVID-19 vaccines are limited.

He offered reassurance, however, that the government has procured enough vaccines for every Thai national, will achieve the target of procuring 100 million doses for 50 million people this year and will procure additional vaccines for the next year.

Regarding the chain of command and responsibility, he said the CCSA is the highest authority to set policy and guidelines for the allocation of vaccines, under which every province will receive vaccines proportionate to its population, with extra vaccines being allocated in the case of a pandemic or for economic, tourism or other necessities.

On the second level is the Ministry of Public Health, which is responsible for allocating how much vaccine is sent to each province, after the arrival of each batch of vaccines. The vaccines will then be delivered to the provinces immediately.

On the third level, he said each province will decide which hospital or vaccination venue will receive what amount of vaccine and will have them delivered rapidly, adding that vaccines arrive in instalments, not six million or ten doses in one time.

Then there is the formula for vaccine distribution, said the prime minister.

Upon the arrival of vaccines, from abroad or locally-produced sources, he said the Ministry of Public Health will immediately distribute them to all provinces. He noted, however, that in the future, some provinces may not receive vaccines from every batch received, if they have already received sufficient vaccine or if there is no urgent need for them.

The number of doses to be distributed to each province is determined by the population, the number of infections, the number of people who have subscribed to Mor Prom app, the number in high-risk groups or economic importance of each province.

If the amount received by each province is insufficient, elderly people and those afflicted with underlying diseases should be given priority.

If it is necessary to postpone vaccination appointments, there is no need for reregistration and the previous appointments should carried forward.

The prime minister admitted that a problem in vaccine management is that the delivery of the vaccines from the production sources is not definite or cannot be fixed and this is not confined to Thailand, but is a worldwide issue.

He pointed out, however, that Thailand has an advantage, in that the AstraZeneca vaccine is produced in Thailand by Siam Bioscience.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

3,000 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Thailand today (Tuesday), according to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

Bangkok’s health officials are keeping a close watch on a construction worker camp at Yaek Fai Chai, in Bangkok Noi district, after 96 of the 363 workers there, screened for COVID-19 infection, tested positive.

CCSA Assistant Spokeswoman Dr. Apisamai Srirangsan said today that all the infected workers have been sent for treatment, the worker housing facility has been shut down and active screening is being conducted for all the workers and people living around the condominium construction project.

She said that two new clusters were found in Samut Prakan province, one at a snack factory in Bang Sao Thong district, where 63 infections have been found, and another at a construction site in Phra Pradaeng district, where 10 workers tested positive.

New clusters were also found in Chachoengsao, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom, Saraburi and Prachin Buri provinces, with the number of infections ranging from 4 to 18.

Dr. Apisamai said that, as more new infections are among male construction workers, there is a need to expand the hospital space for men, so hospital beds reserved for female patients will have to be transferred to the male sections.

Cumulative infections since April 1st, 2021, have reached 173,401. 135,292 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Bangkok today logged 872 new cases, raising cumulative infections in the capital to 54,982 during the current wave.

323,060 doses of vaccines were administered yesterday, divided into first doses for 230,149 people and second doses for 92,911 people. Altogether 6,511,184 doses have been administered – 4,762,063 first doses and 1,749,121 second doses.

On Phuket Island, 61.26% of the population or 335,472 people have been vaccinated, while 45.93% of people on Koh Samui, or 125,229, have been inoculated.

In Bangkok and provinces in its vicinity, 2,057,625 people (13.85%) have received first vaccine jabs and 660,375 (4.45%) have received both.

For the remaining 71 provinces, 2,234,793 (4.04%) have received their first jabs, 882,311 (1.6 confectionery %) have received both.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

VOV.VN – Vietnam is set to purchase 31 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from manufacturer Pfizer/BioNtech of the United States under a deal to be signed shortly between the two sides, according to sources from the Ministry of Health (MoH).

The vaccine will be delivered to Vietnam in the third and fourth quarters of ths year, said the sources.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the MoH has accelerated negotiations with the US manufacturer over the past months to reach the deal.

A representative of Pfizer/BioNtech in Vietnam acknowledged the MoH’s efforts and desires to soon get the vaccine for people.

Earlier, on May 17 Minister Long said that the US manufacturer has yet to accept negotiations regarding prices and conditions of a potential deal.

The Prime Minister immediately asked relevant ministries to work out solutions in order to reach a deal with Pfizer/BioNTech, for the sake of people’s health.

Vietnam is anticipated to receive approximately 110 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this year, including 38.9 million doses from the UN-administered COVAX Facility, 30 million doses from AstraZeneca, and 31 million doses from Pfizer/BioNTech.

The MoH is negotiating with other vaccine manufacturers such as Moderna of the US, Sputnik V of Russia, and Sinopharm of China to purchase other types of vaccines for domestic use.

According to the MoH, Vietnam needs at least 170 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate its population now numbering nearly 100 million.

Source: The Government Public Relations Department