No Vax For You!

Thailand did quite well during the first year of Covid. Strict lockdowns and even stricker quarantine for people entering the country. We lived a pretty much normal life. We wore our masks, but travelled freely throughout Thailand. We enjoyed trips to Koh Lipe, Koh Lanta, Krabi, and Phuket.

On our last trip to Phuket the most recent wave of Covid hit the country. There have been a lot of migrant workers from Myanmar sneaking across the border to look for work in Thailand. Most find work in factories. Of course they do not go through the strict and expensive quarantine that travelers into Bangkok go through. Eventually there was an out break in a factory near Bangkok, that soon began to spread and here we are.

The government was slow to respond with restrictions, even slower with any kind of vaccination program.

Now I find myself in Thailand, with no access to any vaccine.

I have 2 options.

Wait until I can get it here. Our hospital says it will open registration to pay for the Moderna vaccine soon. "Soon" in Thai translates to "maybe someday". This vaccine will be available anytime between October and March. Knowing Thailand, my money is on April of 2022.

We could fly home to the US. Easy peasy, right?

Flight for 3 people, hotel for 3 weeks, food and transportation, and then 2 weeks quarantine in Bangkok, or the Phuket sandbox (but that is a bureaucratic nightmare). The cost would be about $10,000 usd. We just don't have the money for that.

Some will say "That's what you get for moving out of the US" or "You should have known better". To them I say, "You're wrong".

We left the US 5 years ago. There was no way to see this pandemic coming. No one could. It's not like I thought to google "what will happen if there is a global pandemic" 5 years ago.

There have been many positives. International travel, new friends from diverse places, excellent private education for my son, dental and health care we can afford, and a job my husband loves.

Our US government is useless. China made provisions for their citizens to get vaccinated in Thailand, as did the French and Swiss. The US is sending 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to Thailand, zero has been allocated to US citizens. There have been no assurances that we will see it. In fact, I'm sure we won't. It will go to the rich and powerful and to the frontline workers that have already received the Sinovac vaccine, but want more protection.

At this time, I see no light at the end of the tunnel.