Trujillo

As someone who does follow films, let me be clear: Ron Howard is a disaster when it comes to making movies based on an actual event. He can take the most interesting and exciting true story and for his own bizarre reasons, add fiction that makes no sense, doesn't further the movie in any way and totally ruins any factual basis for shooting the film at all. 

Don't expect there to be much in common with what actually happened other than boys stuck in a cave being rescued (if that, even). 

"Those primary cases are believed to have spread the virus....While the regional health authority has not confirmed any deaths linked to the outbreak...."

Are believed to have.....has not confirmed any deaths....

....oh boy....good sources, so far....

"About 300 people who visited the fitness center between February 25 through March 10 were required to be tested, and of those, seven staff members and 94 customers tested positive."

A 14-day window of people who "visited the fitness center" who tested positive....so in those 14 day how can anyone possibly know where they actually got infected? Answer: You can't. 

You are misunderstanding causation and effects. The first time I wore sunglasses at the beach is when I got attacked by a shark; therefore, the sunglasses caused the shark attack. 

"I have an appointment at my local public hospital for a jab at 4 p.m. on 7 Jun. I've had it for about a week. I registered on the LINE app and scheduled it via the online app Mor Prom."

Do you have any choice as to which vaccine you can get? 

So as I understand it, if you get the Chinese SinoVac, you can't enter the EU, but you must have the SinoVac to enter mainland China. 

For Chinese citizens who venture abroad regularly, and western nationals wanting to pursue business opportunities in the world’s second-largest economy, a dilemma is emerging about which shot to opt for. China so far recognizes only Chinese-made shots, and its vaccines are not approved in the U.S. or Western Europe.

But as of two weeks ago, the EU was starting "rolling reviews" of SinoVac, per their request. 

I guess my thoughts are, since Thailand has more or less thrown its hat in the SinoVac ring, would you be wiser to wait for options or would you get the Chinese vaccine (efficacy and stated low confidence regarding side effects as listed by the WHO aside)?

If you are living here permanently, maybe it's of no consequence, but I have heard people wondering what to do vis a vis going back to the EU and the UK as well. 

"Many many retirees are here on extended tourist visa and not retiree visas"

Really? Isn't that illegal? How does that work? I'm not being facetious. How to you massage the system to do that? 

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"This is because Thailand does not have a central database for foreigners residing in the kingdom, with data spread across multiple agencies."

Continued good news for those on the lam....

Actually, if that's true, that's utterly bizarre. 

Wow...amazing. 

First off, it would be nice to actually get the lifted quote correct: 

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." --FDR

There is a difference between the biggest thing and the only thing. 

So the opinion piece says in the opening para that walk-in vaccination plans are likely to be super-spreader events, create misinformation via people using their phones to record video (of people being "turned away for whatever reasons") and those getting the inoculation may still get infected/ill/suffer side effects. 

Boy, I tell 'ya, I was sort of sitting the fence on whether or not to get a jab, but this guy really makes his case, doesn't he? Gee whiz, there's no upside here, is there?

It's a good thing this guy got published before the new anti-fake news law comes into effect. I wonder if it will be retroactively applied? 

"Gyms are a great place to catch covid."

Sources? 
 

I seem to recall reading that there were very few instances of this, although it does happen. Moreover, just because someone uses a certain fitness center and then tests positive, doesn't mean that person was infected inside the center, anymore than a person who handles money and later tests positive got it from holding cash. 

You see how easy it is to make these logical-sounding illogical connections? 

-- "I wore my newly purchased red MAGA hat while swimming in the sea and was stung by a jellyfish. Therefore, the red MAGA hat must be the reason I got stung by a jellyfish, right?"

Sounds like the compressor to me. 

Just call a service shop and have them come out. ACs are pretty basic machines; troubleshooting isn't a big deal. 

"This is fueling fears of potentially spreading Covid-19 far and wide." 

Fueling nonsensical fearmongering, yes, among the ill-informed. 

"...suspected source of most infections...appearing to have come from touching the turnstile...."

Since we know that contact transmission is rare (A year into the pandemic, the evidence is now clear. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted predominantly through the air — by people talking and breathing out large droplets and small particles called aerosols. Catching the virus from surfaces — although plausible — seems to be rare (E. Goldman Lancet Infect. Dis. 20, 892–893; 2020). I am skeptical about this alleged source here. Not impossible but the article from the OP has nothing supporting this claim. 

To the OP: Please read the last slide here: 

WHO Evidence Assessment: Sinovac/CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine FOR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STRATEGIC ADVISORY GROUP OF EXPERTS (SAGE) ON IMMUNIZATION

Who is Chompoo Araya? 

Why should I care? 

Maybe if the Chinese CoronaVac was not pretty much the only option...(if you are in a hurry, go the last slide):

WHO -- Evidence Assessment: Sinovac/CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine FOR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STRATEGIC ADVISORY GROUP OF EXPERTS (SAGE) ON IMMUNIZATION

This is from April 29th, 2021, for your information. 

"imagine back home if you are forced.   and your family member dies..."

That's actually a very interesting point. I wonder if there is a disclaimer you have to sign, and even if there were, would it hold up in court? My guess is not. 

Obviously, no one is Buriramland has thought about this very deeply. 

"...current devastating and most severe wave ...."

Could you be a little more dramatic, please? What not "earth-shatteringly horrible," or "utterly catastrophic"? Come on, man! You can do better than that. 

What is it with vaccines? 

Vaccines are a way to " trick" the body into thinking it needs to make anti-bodies without actually having the sickness; therefore, those who have tested positive in the past, and are not now deceased, are protected in exactly the same way, only achieved via natural means.

This is not a secret, yet why is this fact being ignored?

There is NO difference between being vaccinated and having recovered from the illness, except some people familiar with the subject contend that natural immunity probably lasts longer. If you are a foreigner and can show that you had a positive covid test more than 2 weeks prior to departure, you are good to go in exactly the same way as if you were vaccinated. 

Is big pharma really that powerful that it reaches even to SE Asia?

May 14th -- 10 new COVID-19 positive tests in Chiang Mai Province today.

That's about 0.00057% of the population of the province.

We are in a red zone? All masks, all the time? Restaurants all closed unless they offer takeaway? No outdoor dining? Gyms closed? Spas closed? On it goes?

I don't know about you, but I would like to know who is making the risk management decisions for us.

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1392698081590743041

The latest color-coded map of Thailand has just been released: RED: More than 100 cases (3 provinces)

ORANGE: 51-100 cases (4 provinces)

YELLOW: 11-50 cases (11 provinces)

GREEN: 1-10 cases (45 provinces)

WHITE: 0 cases (14 provinces)

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Wow, amazing Thailand. So sorry to state the obvious, but things are looking good, yes? So why the panic?