OPINION

Resist forced jabs

Re: "Buri Ram makes Covid vaccinations compulsory", (BP, May 15).

The authorities in Buri Ram have made a decree that vaccinations are mandatory for everyone. That's not only potentially dangerous but also risks destroying any semblance of individual liberty and autonomy over one's body.

In this case, the Covid vaccinations are not approved through scientific rigour; they have been licensed under an emergency provision.

The manufacturers have until 2024 to submit proper documentation through research and data showing that they are both safe and effective.

The actions of the authorities in Buri Ram need to be questioned with regards to declaring mandatory vaccinations. They do not address the issue of those with previous exposure where you would have natural immunity.

Before you implement such a draconian measure, you should at least test the entire population for exposure before administering something with well-documented potential side-effects.

Re: "Productivity over ageing citizens", (BP, May 14).

Kudos to John Kemp for analysing China's population "crisis" from a wider perspective than just short-term economic gain.

The latest census data, showing continued slowing in China's population growth, has triggered a flood of editorial hand-wringing, along with calls to increase the birth rate, including a proposal to offer bounties of 1 million yuan for each additional child (BP, May 13).

Such measures might be effective in speeding up China's population growth while slowing the "ageing" of the country's work force, but they amount to a declaration of war against the planet that sustains a current population of 7.8 billion.

The world's population is also rising, though at an insufficient rate to satisfy some short-sighted economists.

Meanwhile, China should abandon its old Third World model of "high birth rate equals high economic growth" and follow the example of Japan and other countries that have managed to build and sustain a high standard of living with an even lower birth rate than that of China.

Re: "Foreigners face longer wait for jab", (BP, May 14).

I imagine most or even all resident foreigners can pay for the shots at private hospitals rather than wait for the government to get around to providing one.

Economic realities, albeit greatly worsened by government incompetence or worse, do determine what is and is not possible, which in turn affect what is reasonable and just.

Acts of God and divinely ordained conditions that determine what is and is not humanly possible, such as horrific virus pandemics, cannot justly be blamed on humans, not even on the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, manifestly blessed though it be with such illustrious role models for Thai youth as that epitome of traditional Thai virtue made incarnate, the universally respected Captain Thamanat.

Re: "Foreigners face longer wait for jab", (BP, May 14).

Are foreigners not vaccinated a health risk?

As the Health Ministry plans to vaccinate Thais first and foreign residents may have to wait until August to register for vaccination, I worry about Covid infections by airborne virus transmission among the expat retiree community.

While understanding national priorities, can expat communities count on our embassies to provide urgently needed vaccines like Moderna or Pfizer to be administered inside embassies for their citizens?

In times of vaccine shortages, such ad hoc vaccination centres at embassies could help accelerate the government's drive to inoculate all people living in Thailand as soon as possible and thus enable a faster recovery.