rabas

"all the scientists I've talked to . . . are like 'this is not going to be good'," Bancel said." (Moderna's CEO) A quick look at what scientists are seeing, which is unprecedented (for better or for worse). 1. Graph comparing unique mutations as SARS-2 progresses from Alpha through Delta to Omicron. In numbers, n=4, 6, 8, 10, 26. From Alpha through Delta, this generally resulted in higher transmission and moderately higher severity. [ref] Note: images can be zoomed. 2. Delta vs Omicron showing mutation locations. The top, central orange area is the critical active binding region. 3. An initial look at Omicron's evolution relative to other variants. The 'rooting' line from Omicron to the origin has no meaning. One question is probably, how did this even happen? (based on data from https://covariants.org/variants/21K.Omicron)

The old saw that viruses trade high mortality to gain transmissibility to survive is not universal. SARS-2 Delta, one of the most transmissible respiratory viruses known, has little need to trade its already low lethality to gain more transmission. So far, each major step of the pandemic has shown both an increase in transmission and a mild increase in severity. I suspect that omicron ... (were's my coin? )

B.1.1.529 is not symptomless. It was discovered because of its unusual symptoms, not by genetic surveillance. By Nov 18 (10 days ago!), Dr. Angelique Coetzee had seen many young but otherwise healthy patients with "unusual Covid-19 symptoms that did not make immediate sense". She informed authorities she suspected a new variant. Roughly half of the patients were vaccinated. Symptoms were generally mild except for extreme fatigue which was common. However, her patients were younger people and she was concerned about older, more venerable people. More here.

While true not all, there are numerous cases. See Wiki-Omicron. "All four initial cases reported from Botswana occurred among fully vaccinated individuals.[24] All three initial confirmed and suspected cases reported from Israel occurred among fully vaccinated individuals. [25]" The case in HK quarantine was fully vaccinated as was a person infected by him in a room across the hall. [ref] Just today: "On 27 November 2021, the Dutch health ministry estimated about 85 of the ~600 passengers on two flights from South Africa that landed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on Nov 26 were infected with the virus." [wiki] The actual number is now 66. [reuters] I assume most if not all passengers would be vaccinated.

Here's finer detail from South African authorities and scientists in today's (Nov 25) video conference uploaded to Youtube. You may want to skip the first 10 minutes setting up the conference. South Africa's speed and openness are highly commendable. This is the way it should be.

In general, no. I'm currently the acting president of my condo's committee and have been on the committee for a decade. Committee members are owners elected to represent all the owners' interests. They can make minor decisions and interpretations of existing condo rules. They cannot unilaterally decide to restrict who can rent or cannot rent if the rental meets existing rules. Perhaps they are considering COVID safety, so I just discussed the issue with our building manager (the person empowered to enforce the rules). He said, if all COVID safety rules prescribed by government and local authorities have been meet, and you have all the required documents, the committee has no power to forbid the rental based on COVID safety. I suggest doing the following (Thai style, with a smile and air of authority). In writing, tell them you believe the ruling does not apply to your case because you have followed all the rules, and you want to check with the authorities. Then say, if the committee still thinks there is an issue, please explain the problem in writing so you can ask the authorities. You will likely get an apology and told it's OK. Do not argue, get angry, or show any emotion. And remember as an owner you are the ultimate boss. In Thailand, he who acts like a boss is treated like a boss.

Did you tell them when you received your last Pfizer shot? If not, your publication may still be in peer review. If you had Pfizer in Thailand, they may be saying it's not yet time for your booster. BTW, Korea has moved to 4 and 5 month boosters, depending on status. 4 months for over 60. HERE

Oddly, most all links from Duckduck.com state he was double vaccinated including: https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/tragic-surgeon-killed-by-covid-was-fully-vaccinated-but-missed-out-on-booster-by-days/ar-AAQV50n None of these show on my Google search, or they are low priority. SEARCH KEY: Dr Irfan Halim Great Western Hospital +"vaccinated"

I think you mean to get the signature of the receiver, you must also specify "tawp rap", which is true. You can say long thabian, tawp rap and they will give you the orange card.

I kept it simple for everyone and yes even the English terms are often confused. However, there are two separate services offered by Thailand Post. 1. ไปรษณีย์รับรอง prai-sa-nee rap-rawn. (mail-certified) 2. ไปรษณีย์ลงทะเบียน prai-sa-nee long-tha-bian (mail-registered) Service 1: Certified mail is being discontinued. Service 2 registered mail is not. My lawyer, sitting next to me (aka my niece) confirms this. I also called Thailand Post at 1545 and confirmed all the above in Thai. So, no change to 90 day reporting.

I don't think this has anything to do with 'registered' mail. The Thai article talks about "certified" mail, or 'rap rawg'. Registered mail is 'long thabien'. Registered and certified mail are generally considered different services. Certainly, registered mail is not under used. There is an orange card you can send attached to your mail to get a recipient's signature. I call it tawp-rap (receive an answer) at the post office, this may be what they mean. "Certified mail provides a receipt for the sender and for an additional fee, will receive a copy of the recipient's signature upon his receipt of the mail, while registered mail provides the sender a receipt and detailed records of his mail's location." L<link>

No. A 3 or 4 week schedule is the norm. Long 12 week delays between shots 1 and 2 apply only to AZ--AZ. It does not apply to other combinations even AZ--Pfizer or Pfizer--AZ. This is because AZ is a viral vector vaccine that uses the same vector for both shots. Such vaccines can suffer from anti-vector response, which lessens the immune response when shot 2 is taken too early. This does not apply to other types of vaccines, thus there is no need for a long delay between AZ and Pfizer. AZ is also an excellent vaccine if you wait the recommended time. I am vaccinated with AZ. reading: Reuters Vaccine Mixing

More detail from BK Magazine: https://bk.asia-city.com/city-living/news/how-paypal-thailands-new-rules-affect-you

I have no idea. I asked specifically a few times. I told him other people want to know, is there a criteria for older accounts? He never answered directly. But he was adamant I will be able to receive money after the Thailand relaunch. Though, I don't have much faith in what he said. My account is old and he did look it up and tell me the date, so it's not all vacuum talk. Now read another opinion from Paypal on this new page. https://www.paypal.com/th/webapps/mpp/2021relaunch?locale.x=en_TH Existing PayPal consumers in Thailand can still use PayPal to shop and pay online in millions of stores. They can also continue to accept payments easily and securely.

Many posters have called Paypal Thailand and heard different things. So I just called and asked 3 specific questions about my personal PP account. 1. After updating, can I use my account as before? 2. After updating, can I use my acct to receive payments? 3. After updating, can I maintain a paypal balance? I asked repeatedly in every way possible and he also spent several minutes consulting with others esp about Q2 and 3. He mentioned that mine was an older account and said I will be able to receive payments and hold a balance as before after the Thailand relaunch. We went over this several times. This is completely contradictory to the notice I received from Paypal this morning: Going forward, to receive payments or hold a balance in your PayPal Thailand account, you must be a business registered in Thailand and meet the PayPal Thailand “Know Your Business” account verification requirements. This includes providing your Thai business registration number and other business information. If you’re not a business registered in Thailand, you may consider registering your business with the Thailand Ministry of Commerce and then open a new PayPal Thailand business account. If you’re not a business registered in Thailand and wish to use PayPal only to make payments, please log in to your account to accept the PayPal Thailand Relaunch Agreements. Conclusion, the confusion is with Paypal itself and not our honorable TV posters. It might be prudent to not agree to anything until this gets cleared up.

Vichaiyut has said they will receive 30,000 in the first allotment expected this week. I too remember lots of talk about 10,000 per hospital, and lots of other numbers as the powers that be whittled away at the numbers.

Yes. We purchased Moderna from Vichaiyut Hospital. In early September, we received physical coupon cards that have a QR code, serial number, and a password. Each coupon is one shot and can be freely traded without contacting the hospital (vaccine money). In early October, Vichaiyut opened a website to register the cards but not to make appointments. Once registered in your name, the coupon can no longer be traded. It's safely assigned to you. There is no requirement to register the coupon, you can wait or trade it to others. This week, we were informed by LINE that they will open an appointment site on November 5. I believe vaccinations will start about the 15th. They have been very good about keeping us informed.

Thank you for all the clear and useful information. I was not aware of phone and online options and will try that the next time. The bank offered an alternative if they could not get permission to sign the form, along the lines you suggest. They said they can print and sign an Thai language account verification letter (bai rap rawng) stating the account details and could add the SWIFT code. She said she could then translate it to English as a favour. The I would staple that to the form. On line does sound a lot easier though. Again thanks.

I'm not sure but this seems the most appropriate thread for the following questions. Background. I'm switching my US-SS payments from Bangkok Bank to SCB for convenience. SCB has now signed form SSA-1199-OP107 (DIRECT DEPOSIT SIGNUP FORM). The local branch initially said they cannot sign non SCB originated forms but eventually sought and got permission from the head office. They were very helpful and supportive. Q1. Living in Thailand, is it better to send the form to the Baltimore SSA office or to the local office in the Philippines? Q2. The form is primarily for SS direct deposit sign up. Should I note on top that my intention is to switch banks? Many thanks in advance.

Immunity is complex but a Moderna shot is significantly stronger than a Pfizer shot, 100 micrograms of mRNA versus 30µg for Pfizer. Otherwise their mRNA is from the same patented design. Nature, July 2021: Quarter-dose of Moderna COVID vaccine still rouses a big immune response

Great, I'll give it another try. I was able to report online 3 times before changing my passport 4 years ago. Seems they fixed problems with the older system just about about 5 years ago.

I'm four years into a new passport and unable to do onine 90-day reporting since. Back then I was told that the new PP number would not work for 90-day reporting until I re-entered Thailand, at which time the new number is entered into the database. Are you saying that you can now do online reporting without having re-entered Thailand? Did you do anything special, or have they simply up graded their database? Thanks.

Far from speculative. More from Reuters: AstraZeneca, Sputnik vaccines face hurdles if COVID shots become annual affair Also see [Expert Opinions] scroll to Prof Helen Fletcher, Professor of Immunology in London. "The AZD1222 vaccine given alone would prime an immune response against spike protein – but also prime a response against the vaccine itself" Known in Dec 2020. Which is more responsible? Repeating that AZ is equal to the best or point out the issue? When planning my family's vaccine program is was helpful to understand the delays and possible advantage of longer delays. I even considered AZ--Moderna-Moderna--AZ to maximize AZ's response. But Thailand's GAO would not provide happiness.

It does! The title of the referenced page reads:... Adenovirus-vectored Covid-19 vaccines’ efficacy ... likely to be stifled by antivector response. Again the reference: [Clinical Trials Arena] Here's a long science paper [click here] describing OAZ's efforts to deal with antivector response, starting with the low 60.3% efficacy in the Brazilian trial, likely due to AVR. They first tried to lower the initial dose to prevent AVR, which was globally not accepted without a new trial. Then they started delaying the second dose. IOW, it is a well known issue AZ and ADV vaccines. Aside this significant problem, its a fine vaccine, I am happily AZ double zapped, waiting, and waiting, for my Modera ....

Two equal and one would've been equal except for a major flaw. AZ is the only vaccine to suffer 'anti-vector response' out of the gate where the body becomes immune to the vaccine itself. This is why you must wait a long time for the second dose. Oxford themselves now suggest 45 weeks is optimal ! In the mean time, you are left partially protected during a pandemic. The Russians avoided this by using two different adenoviruses, J&J by using one shot. Antivector response may also become problematic for all adenovirus vaccines if COVID becomes a long term issue. Read here: Clinical Trials Arena: "Adenovirus-vectored Covid-19 vaccines’ efficacy during a potential re-vaccination campaign likely to be stifled by antivector response." So no, not 3 equal.