AgentSmith

Agreed. I don't intend to suggest it's twice the risk but I can imagine that exposure to two different solutions and thus more distinct substances that normally don't belong in our tissues does introduce more risk. Different vaccines means more kinds of proteins being injected for example and thus more chance of adverse effects. Still these risks are minimal and probably far outweighed by the increased protection from an mRNA based vaccine. The only way to be sure of course is to test and compare vaccine combinations over large groups.

Well said. One thing has to be mentioned though. You do have a higher chance of serious and rare side-effects when you get a combination of vaccines. This is due to the simple reason that you're exposing yourself to two different sets of risks. That's a teeny weeny catch though. One in 1000 women taking contraceptives develop some form of thrombosis but no social media taught self-proclaimed expert ever complained about that.

I don't have these papers at hand but the UK among other countries has done extensive research and the conclusion is that it's both safe and effective. As a result several European countries have been giving the Astra-Pfizer combination for quite some time now. Especially the UK can benefit from it because Pfizer provides a higher degree of protection from the delta variant than Astra. UK has been relying mostly on Astra from the early start of their vaccination program. I've asked the hospital if I can get Pfizer as a second jab after Astra later this month but they've said they don't do this yet. Fine, I'll get a Pfizer or Moderna booster in a couple months then.

It depends where you're from I guess. For me it's perfectly possible to be insured for a reasonable amount no matter how old I get. I know 'old' people who sorted all this out just fine. But I don't care if it's possible or not. If you somehow cannot or choose not to arrange certain insurance and at the same time choose to live your remaining years in a faraway land then you also accept the possible consequences. Or, and I suspect that to be the case much more often, people don't think these things through at all and only realize their mistake when it's too late. People are often under-insured and completely unaware and that's true for tourists, expats and retirees. I get that someone tries to get a relative back when things go wrong but you can't expect the impossible. Someone chooses to live their golden years in another country and that usually means things will come to an end there as well. Relatives of mine live in a faraway land too. They made the very conscious choice to live and someday die there. Their relatives know and won't move heaven and earth when it comes to it. That includes me. Again I completely understand the emotions people must be going through. It's just that expectations of the patient were possibly a bit different from those of his relatives.

Thais are completely insane when it comes to covid. The protective stuff they wear in hospitals here is a joke. No western hospital does that. Not even for vaccination. Covid is no joke but here they treat it as if it's ebola. Just a proper medical mask and gloves is actually more than enough. It's a respiratory disease. You simply won't get sick from a few particles on your skin or face. Same when you're tested positive for covid. Then it's not possible to quarantine at home. No you need to go to hospital, and all the costs are for you just because they decided it's policy. It's insane. No way I'd ever have myself tested here. The same country lets people wait THREE months to get their second dose of the vaccine. That means a very long time without any protection from the immune system. One dose simply doesn't do it anymore with the delta variant. But no way in hell do they revise their policies here. It's all so backward here. We already knew that but this year has been a firm reality check, at least for me.

When will people start getting some common sense and arrange for proper insurance? Everyone can fall ill and become unable to fly with a normal airline. This actually takes far less than a coma. As soon as you can't take care of yourself on a regular flight the airline won't let you board. I've seen this happen from very close to someone. It's all rosy when life is going fine but if you want to keep a lifeline to your country of origin you better take care of that before the <deleted> hits the fan. Saves you and your close ones a lot of sorrow and despair, and you won't have to depend on people's mercy through some online funding program. That said, I hope they can get this man back to his family. Medical flights are no joke though and easily cost as much as a proper house.

As soon as they gain any importance. New variants are discovered all the time and there are already thousands of them if not more. For researchers this is just another day in the lab but the only effect of news articles such as these is confusion and needless worry.

I don't live in Bangkok.

Perhaps they do. Perhaps people think one shot already provides a certain degree of protection and as such tend to take more risk than necessary. However one shot is practically nothing, especially with the delta variant. Immunity doesn't build up until after the second shot and then takes about 3 weeks to reach maximum. And then there are certain groups of people with impaired immune systems who need 3 shots. "Vaccinated people" should be synonymous to "fully vaccinated people" in every article and in every discussion. I'm sure death rates among fully vaccinated people is close to 0. Not 0 but close. There are break-through cases but those are very rare. Of course this will be a different story when a country has been vaccinating its citizens close to a year. All current covid vaccines wear off relatively quickly. After 3 months Pfizer's 96% protection already drops to the lower 70s. Booster shots will be a requirement to keep the general population protected from covid. This of course is not very important for Thailand yet. The vaccination program hasn't reached a high enough momentum yet to start worrying about boosters shots here. I just hope there will be enough AstraZeneca as a second shot because Sinovac alone won't do the job.

I am actually doing a lot of research in my free time. Pubmed is my main source of information on this virus. I am doing my best to keep up with research.

More and more people will live in dark red zones anyway. That's just a matter of time. The delta variant is unstoppable.

mRNA vaccines need to be stored at a very low temperature. That makes transport and distribution rather difficult. It's much easier to let people travel to a few large facilities instead of trying to spread these vials and their fragile content all over the country. 6 hospitals in Bangkok now administer Pfizer to foreigners.

That is fine but that is your choice. It is perfectly possible to get vaccinated and acquire maximum immunity. I deemed it necessary to do so and will be fully vaccinated by the end of September. I'm not gonna wait for a jab in my hometown. The entire country is turning dark red soon and there is simply no safe spot left anyway. Vaccination is the only true protection from this disease. Worth a thousand masks so to speak. If the whole country was this adamant to get their shots we'd be out of this hell hole soon enough.

Why do posts like these keep showing up? Why don't people find their way to the actual sources of information that clearly show these vaccines are perfectly available to foreigners? It seems that many prefer to stick in their own circles whining about how difficult it all is while in reality it is very simple. Thailandintervac.com points the way to several hospitals in Bangkok where you can simply make an appointment and get the jab. The woman in the article can do the same thing. Actually I've notified the news paper of the original article to tell her but haven't heard back. Well it's fine if people want to keep deluding themselves. I don't really care. But I wish they would stop propagating this nonsense on the web.

Just to make it very clear: registration for Pfizer jabs for foreigners over 60 or with certain underlying diseases is still wide open at several hospitals in Bangkok. No need for posts from people in these groups saying they can't get it because they can if they want to.