Angry and disappointed Pattaya residents voiced their displeasure after showing up at Pattaya City Hospital for their Covid-19 vaccinations only to be told there were no vaccines.
Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome had gone with his advisors to the Soi Buakhao facility July 5 to observe as first doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and second doses of Sinovac jabs were to be dispensed.
But those who registered online four to six weeks ago and showed up at their appointed time were told there would be no shot that day or possibly any day in July.
“We don’t have the vaccines. The government has not sent them to us,” announced a hospital official. “Don’t expect it this month. Pattaya City Hall will call you.”
The unvaccinated were not pleased.
“All we hear from the government is to go and get vaccinated, but they have no vaccines,” groused one Pattaya resident who walked away empty-handed. “So all the talk on TV is false. They promise that there will be enough vaccines for everyone, but we come, and they say they don’t have any.”
“They didn’t even have the decency to tell us in advance,” said another person who made the trip to downtown Pattaya. “I checked my registration on Mor Phrom every day, watching for any changes or postponements, but nothing showed.
“We are thoroughly disappointed with the authorities and do not trust them anymore.”
Others at the hospital said the government’s plan to open the country to fully vaccinated foreign tourists without restrictions in mid-October “a joke.”
“If this is the situation, both Thais and foreigners should be really scared of contracting Covid-19.”
Not everyone left without a jab, however. Pattaya did vaccinate vendors at the Amorn, Naklua New and Lan Po markets who showed up for vaccinations after their workplaces were closed for three days following coronavirus outbreaks.
Pattaya continues to take reservations for AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccinations, but have no dates when the jabs actually might be administered.