Thai leader threatens punishment for false vaccine news

Thai leader threatens punishment for false vaccine news

SeattlePI.com

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BANGKOK (AP) — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha warned Tuesday that his government will prosecute anyone who shares false information about coronavirus vaccines in social or mass media.

The government already has the power to impose punishments under a state of emergency that was declared last March to deal with the health threat.

Prayuth’s warning was an apparent reaction to charges that his government has done too little to acquire adequate supplies of vaccines. The criticism took on a sharp political tinge after a popular politician aired such allegations in an internet broadcast Monday night.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the dissolved Future Forward Party, accused the government of acting too slowly to inoculate the country’s population. Thanathorn has long been a thorn in the side of Prayuth’s government. His party made a strong third-place showing in the 2019 general election, but he was forced out of Parliament when a court ruled that he had broken an election law. His party was later dissolved on a similar technicality.

There also have been allegations that well-connected companies stand to profit unfairly from government contracts to produce a vaccine, charges denied by the government and the companies involved.

“Do not blame me for threatening legal action,” Prayuth said. “I need to keep people’s confidence and trust in government.”

Health officials at a news conference Tuesday defended the effort to procure vaccines.

Supakit Sirilak, director general of the Medical Science Department, said the Health Ministry has been working to obtain vaccine supplies since last February, but has taken time to evaluate which are appropriate.

He said the government has targeted having enough vaccines to cover 50% of the population...

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