A response has been received to an enquiry about the suggestions being made on Australian TV that the Australian overseas embassies could facilitate Covid-19 vaccinations for their citizens overseas and its not good news for Aussi expats.
“Australians here (Thailand) and in other countries around the world may be covered by the vaccine rollout program in their current location.”
This coincides with the news that the Australian government has given Thailand 68 million baht to support Thailand’s vaccine program and to help Thailand vaccinate the country faster.
Referring to this support of the Thai government, but not its own citizens, a clear message has been sent about how unimpressed expats are with the support (or lack of support) being received; for example:
“Would be about time that the Australian Government considered it’s citizens overseas, those that in many cases paid taxes all their working lives and now are not given any consideration.”
“Australian government donating to Pacific and South East Asia partners but no mention of vaccines for Expats; but you can guarantee embassy staff etc get vaccinated.“
“Time to support Australian Expats during this covid crisis with the supply of vaccines as so far there has been NO support for Expats from the Australian government.”
The suggestion of facilitating vaccines for Australian ex-pats in Thailand has been quickly dimissed with a response, from consular.bangkok@dfat.gov.au, and it’s a definitive NO! The full response is provided below:
“Australia’s COVID-19 vaccinations are being rolled out domestically to people in Australia. These vaccinations will only be available in Australia.
The Australian Embassy won’t be involved in delivering vaccines to Australians in Thailand. Australians here and in other countries around the world may be covered by the vaccine rollout program in their current location.
We will provide more information on access to Thailand’s vaccination program as soon as the Thai authorities clarify their approach. We currently do not have any information regarding other embassies coordinating vaccines for Australian residing in Thailand.
Under the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination Program, the Australian Government considers officials about to be deployed or currently deployed overseas on official government business as Critical and High Risk Workers under Phase 1b and has started to offer vaccines to eligible personnel. As an officer with the United Nations, if you believe that you may be covered under this category please discuss this with your employer and/or contact the Australian Department of Health for further advice.
If you are on Facebook, we also suggest following the “Australian Embassy, Thailand” page, where Ambassador McKinnon regularly posts Covid-19 video updates. These posts will continue to provide vaccine information as it becomes available. Additional information is also available the COVID-19 Vaccinations page on the Smartraveller website.
For up to date information regarding Australia’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout, and prioritisation schedule, please refer to the following website: Australian Government Department of Health
For further information on when and how the Australian Embassy can assist Australians living or travelling in Thailand, please refer to our Consular Service Charter. In addition, we strongly encourage Australians in Thailand to subscribe to travel advice for Thailand via the Smartraveller subscription service.”
Editor’s Comment: Whether this response is the end of the matter may well depend on the reaction to this statement by Australian citizens both overseas and home in Australia. If you feel aggrieved at the stance being taken, your voice should be heard.
