Thread by @SaksithCNA

THREAD: So here’s where the rumor came from that @pfizer’s #COVID19 vaccine is already in #Thailand even though @fdathai has not received any paperwork for approval yet and just rebuked this.

Let’s go down the rabbit hole…

https://twitter.com/saksithcna/status/1389796377891282950

1) It all started with self-exiled fmr Thai PM @ThaksinLive claiming in a live stream on Tuesday night that a small amount of @pfizer’s #COVID19 vaccine is already in #Thailand and given to a “probably a small group”.

https://twitter.com/khaosodonline/status/1389792596546002945

2) @ThaksinLive claims that “it’s all online already for people to see” and points to @nytimes’ #COVID19 Vaccine Tracker (nytimes.com/interactive/20…) and @TrackVaccines.

This is were things start to fall apart…

3) @nytimes’s #COVID Vaccine Tracker says that @pfizer has been approved “for emergency use” in Thailand (see highlighted part).

Clicking on that takes you to the story “Thailand reduces quarantine, paperwork for vaccinated” from Apr 1 by @AP.

4) In this @AP story (apnews.com/article/thaila…), the highlighted part talks about the #COVID19 vaccines APPROVED FOR TRAVELERS TO REDUCE THEIR QUARANTINE*! It does NOT say it’s approved for domestic use.

*(Moot now since the quarantine is back to 14 days)

5) It is very likely that @TrackVaccines also misread that @AP story and hence listed both Moderna’s and @pfizer’s #COVID19 vaccines as approved - even though that is not the case of as writing.

6) So all in all this whole brouhaha was caused because someone at @nytimes and @TrackVaccines misread or misinterpreted an @AP story and fmr Thai PM @ThaksinLive just happened to stumble upon this and then broadcasted it for all of Thailand to see.

7) There’s obviously a political angle: both @ThaksinLive and his sister and fmr PM @PouYingluck have been toppled by (broadly speaking) the same forces that are in govt right now. It didn’t stop them to criticize the Thai PM from exile. Oh and they’re both vaccinated already.

8) The Thai govt currently only has Sinovac and AstraZeneca, a large bulk of the latter will be produced in Thailand by royally-owned Siam Bioscience. J&J is also approved but no one is importing it. The 3rd #COVID19 wave caused the govt to seek more from Pfizer and Sputnik V now

9) Even though we can now see why that Pfizer rumor is wrong and where it came from, it doesn’t absolve the Thai govt of PM @prayutofficial of criticism of their vaccine strategy. As of today, 1.5m people have gotten at least one #COVID19 vaccine.

10) RECAP: No, @pfizer’s #COVID19 vaccine isn’t here yet (as far as we know). No, @fdathai only received paperwork from Moderna, Covaxin and Sputnik for approval. No, I don’t know either if @ThaksinLive deliberately spread a rumor or just simply fell for a mistake… (END)

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