OPINION

Vaccine sense

Re: "Record deaths put govt on alert", (BP, July 18).

Dr Surapon, head of Thammasat University Hospital's executive board, states that we only need six million of the 15 million doses produced from AstraZeneca to prevent more fatalities, which is why we have not stopped AstraZeneca from exporting doses.

How can he say that? is he saying there will be no fatalities if we have six million doses per month. That is a ridiculous statement. If we have 15 million doses per month it is common sense that fatalities will likely be fewer.

Ask the sensible motorcycle taxi driver says, "Don't give me money, spend it on quality vaccines and buy them fast so everyone can be immunised."

Russian wrongs

Re: "Russian policy is sound", (PostBag, July 18).

Pyotor Invanovich has neglected to mention one reason why Russia backing for Syria, Venezuela and Belarus is all a bad thing. Each one is run by a corrupt dictator who rigs elections and beats, jails or kills members of the opposition.

Further, annexing part of a sovereign state in the case of Ukraine was an act of international piracy and was condemned by 100 nations in UN Resolution No.68/262.

Putin himself has used a variety of measures to harm those who would oppose him in Russia, and maintains a vice-like grip on the Russian media.

To say that Putin supports all of this because he is a fan of the democratic process is laughable to say the least.

Jab elderly first

In the UK in April 2020, 80% of the 6,000+ dying from Covid were aged over 75. The number is now about 40% of the 20 deaths per day. The vaccination strategy was for front-line workers and those aged over 70 to be the first priority for vaccination. Why does this government not follow such a focused strategy rather than, for instance, vaccinating 75% of the population of Phuket and other such projects, covering all age groups, to earn a few bucks or satisfy pressure groups?

This is clearly putting the lives of older Thais at risk. Let us know how many people are aged over 70, how many have been vaccinated already and report daily on the progress in fully vaccinating them. The death rate will almost certainly come down.

As a near 81-year-old expat from the country that created the AZ vaccine I happily await my turn to be early in the queue after the last over 70-year-old Thai has been vaccinated.

Shots off target

We fight Covid-19 with knee-jerk blanket measures that wreak havoc. Prayut/Anutin did an excellent job fighting off the first wave, but have lost their way. Now, our fatality rate per thousand persons slightly exceeds that of the US and UK -- and unlike theirs, ours is rising.

We cannot let our people starve. For example, we know that outdoor activities are relatively safe, so can allow open-air dining and non-contact undertakings like jogging, beach picnics and tennis.

We know that the elderly and those with underlying conditions are most at risk -- yet now we vaccinate relatively many more of the general public than those most at risk. Revise our targeting immediately.

Be calm, think first, then act.