OPINION

Roads the big killer

Re: "Drunks more deadly than bug", (PostBag, June 6).

We lost 22,491 people to vehicular deaths in 2018 -- vs just 1,177 to Covid 19 as of June 5, 2021, reports Khun Eddie Delzio. "The coronavirus deaths in the past six months are about the number of road casualties in just one day'', the TDRI noted in November 2020. "Thailand's roads are the deadliest in Southeast Asia and among the worst in the world, according to the WHO. About 20,000 people die in road accidents each year, or about 56 deaths a day," the TDRI concluded. Push PM Prayut to be as serious about road fatalities as about those from Covid-19!

Vaccines of concern

Re: ''Govt hopes to ink big Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson orders", (BP, June 5).

I hope that Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, the head of the Department of Disease Control, who is ordering 25 million doses of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines is familiar with the latest research on these experimental vaccines. Some examples of recent reports follow:

A Japanese government investigation found that the spike proteins from the Pfizer vaccine travels through the bloodstream potentially causing damage to vital organs including the brain and the heart. A Harvard Medical School study on injecting lab animals with purified spike proteins found that they developed cardiovascular problems. An Israeli panel of medical experts linked the Pfizer vaccine to heart inflammation in young people. The American College of Cardiology reported that Covid vaccines could induce thrombosis.

There are hundreds of reputable research papers now available but Thailand seems to be gripped by panic and so is grasping at what seem to be easy solutions to the problem without considering important questions about the long-term safety and health of the population. It is time to look into the research that is becoming available.

Sandbox shambles?

Re: "Phuket set for July reopening", (BP, June 5).

Everyone talks about the "Phuket Sandbox" as if it's a done deal. Confidence is expressed that 70% of Phuket residents will be "fully vaccinated" by 1 July. But my understanding is that "fully vaccinated" means two shots of most vaccines. It's reported that, to date, only about 21% have received two shots. Does this mean that, if the remaining 79% cannot be fully vaccinated in the next three weeks, the re-opening plan will be postponed indefinitely -- resulting in loss of face, consternation among affected tourists, and great mistrust among potential visitors? There must be tremendous pressure for this ill-conceived scheme to go ahead, come what may, with typical fudging and cover-up.

What's more, "tourists must stay at hotels that have Safety & Health Administration Plus hygiene standards certification", for 14 days. Does this mean the tourists must book and pay for these designated hotels in advance of travel? Sounds a whole lot like ASQ to me, but with some freedom of movement within Phuket. Do the authorities really think that's going to be attractive to hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists? Haven't we seen this movie before?

Wouldn't a more sensible approach be to allow entry to Thailand -- without need for quarantine -- to certified fully vaccinated tourists (as well as Thais and expat residents), together with certified negative PCR tests before travel and upon arrival, perhaps followed by another mandatory test seven days later?