Bkk Brian

Thailand thanks #Japan for granting 3rd lot of 300,000-dose #AstraZeneca vaccines which arrived in Thailand today as to commemorate the 134th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations. In total, Japan has already granted 1.65m-dose vaccines to Thailand

https://twitter.com/MFAThai/status/1442013977257512961

Wonder when they'll need a 2nd booster after this experiment that goes against the manufactures and WHO's recommendation

Phuket pushes intradermal vaccine jabs for third dose

Phuket is accelerating the operation to administer the third Covid-19 vaccine jab using intradermal injection on citizens.

Some 200,000 people are expected to be vaccinated by September-end. Dr Chalermpong Sukhonthaphon, the director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, said all vaccination centres in the province on Saturday had kicked off the vaccination operation by using only 60 per cent of total vaccination capacity.

"Therefore, we have a plan to accelerate the vaccination in order to enable people in the province to receive their third jab as soon as possible," he said.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40006668

2 hours ago, anchadian said:

Phuket health authorities are reporting 219 new local cases , four cases from the Sandbox and two deaths. There are now 4,352 patients in care . The #PhuketSandbox has had 109 cases since 1st July #COVID19 #โควิด19 #โควิดวันนี้ #Thailand

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1441914823722160130

The PPHO no longer issues an updated map showing the locations of COVID infections across the island. The most recent map was posted publicly on Sept 16. It was dated Sept 15 but marked as accurate as of 6pm on Sept 14, and was the first daily report to mark five COVID deaths on the one day.

More details

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-marks-219-new-covid-cases-two-more-deaths-81517.php

Just now, Kadilo said:

No as he asked about predictions. Stop bickering and get back on topic. 

Ah so rantings about former predictions that you cannot evidence. The topic which I was responding to in your post

Phuket Opinion: Enough rope

PHUKET: If anyone was still looking for evidence that the COVID infection figures provided by some officials in Phuket were not adding up, this past week – not once, but twice – they have had that evidence served to them on a plate.

Plenty of suspicions about the veracity of the figures published each day in the daily COVID situation report for Phuket have been abound for a long time, yet this past week those suspicions were confirmed by none other than the official reports themselves.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-opinion-enough-rope-81516.php

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

The WHO is not recommending boosters. But you want to follow their advice regarding administration of boosters. Sure.

The WHO is currently not recommending boosters because of vaccine inequality throughout the world, ie the available supply. Thailand regardless is doing this.

Nothing whatsoever to do with WHO's advice on the method of vaccination as per the manufacturer.

WHO's advice on actual administering the vaccines which is what this is actually about, you know, the topic of the thread, is for it to be given intramuscularly. As is the advice from AZ after its extensive trials throughout the world

Lets hope Thailand is following the US Embassy on twitter....555

Thailand will get 1 million doses of vaccine soon, says US Embassy

The US Embassy in Bangkok posted on Twitter on Saturday that the US will donate an additional 1 million doses of safe and effective vaccines to Thailand.

The embassy added that the US and Thailand are working in close coordination to complete all necessary documentation. They look forward to the second shipment of vaccines to Thailand as soon as possible.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40006645

7 minutes ago, stevenl said:

All the people who are receiving a vaccine this way have already received a vaccine 'in a manner approved by the vaccine's developers and manufacturers'.

So whats your point? Those vaccines now need boosters as they've waned, the boosters are not being administered the way not only the manufacturer recommends but also WHO

40 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

GF'S daughter says she doesn't want a vaccine as she is scared of what it might do, and the fact she has had Covid already should be enough. Her father has had Covid twice and was vaccinated with Sinovac, so I can see what she's thinking as well. She was scared to see her mom get vaccinated this last week.  7 years old and worrying is a sad thing. She had a friend loose her father to Covid and he was vaccinated as well.

Tough for young kids when it touches them like that, my daughter here is a little older at 13 and she had a friend at school get it a few months back, as a result was sent to a dormitory type field hospital here in Phuket, the last thing she wants is to experience the same. So she has no problem taking the vaccine.

30 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Pfizer for private schools Chinise juice for public or Pfizer for all?

No idea but at my daughters school (International) we got an email last week asking whether we wanted her to have the Pfizer jab as they commence between the 4th and 11th Oct for first jab, 4 weeks later the second.

List of students opting for Pfizer vaccine to be ready on Sunday

Schools will finalise the list of students who opt for the Pfizer vaccine on Sunday to send it to the Ministry of Education. Schools must collect the full name, ID card number, date of birth, and consent for Pfizer vaccination, Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong said on Friday.

Schools must send information to provincial education offices on Sunday. Provincial education offices will prepare the provincial list to send to the Bureau of Integrated Education Affairs on Tuesday.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40006643

Update article published just now:

Phuket begins new vaccine injection method

PHUKET: Medical staff at the Indoor Sports Stadium at Saphan Hin yesterday (sept 24) began administering third-dose ‘booster’ injections using the subdermal method, injecting the vaccine just under the skin, instead of the intramuscular method, injecting the vaccine into muscle, as used previously.

Those who received subcutaneous vaccination had an average immune response of 17,662.3 AU/ml and those who received conventional vaccination had an average immune response of 17,214.1 AU/m. 840 AU/ml).

The side effects of subcutaneous vaccinations were less common than with conventional injections, such as fever or headache, the researchers noted.

“The subcutaneous injection causes more irritation and redness at the injected area, it is not worrying,” Dr Withita said.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-begins-new-vaccine-injection-method-81511.php

Article from the 15th Sept announcing results of study:

Dr Withita explained, “In this research, we had 242 participants who were 18-60 years old and we divided them into two groups. For the first group, of 120 participants, we injected 0.5ml of vaccine into their muscle [Intramuscular], which is normal for COVID-19 vaccine injection.

“For another 122 participants, we injected 0.1ml of vaccine under their skin [subcutaneous],” she said.

“The study found that participants who received the subcutaneous injection with 0.1ml of vaccine developed a slightly higher rate of immunity than the other group of participants,” Dr  Withita explained.

https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-study-confirms-subdermal-injections-using-less-vaccine-more-effective-as-boost-jabs-81413.php

7 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Well, if it's subcutaneous, then all bets are off.

 

However it's not subcutaneous according to the latest article in the Bangkok Post (which of course I can't quote or link to) and according to different articles about this idea (e.g. Reuters, The Nation) when it was first mooted, the whole plan was to use intradermal injection.

 

I suspect that any references to subcutaneous are because of people confusing the two terms, since they are very similar in concept.

 

The doctor proposing it even referenced the study in the Netherlands into using the Moderna vaccine intradermally.

 

Medical expert suggests intradermal inoculation to multiply vaccine usage

 

As for the dosage, the general principle is that whatever the amount used for intramuscular injection, a smaller dose is required when using the intradermal route, to get the same immunological effect.

 

Please note that all of this is still just being put forward as part of an academic discussion of the relative merits of different methods of vaccine administration and I'm not making any specific judgement of what the Thai authorities are currently doing.

The overriding factor here is that there is absolutely no need to try this experiment, they did over a million jabs yesterday through traditional means, why on earth go down an unproven route that has not had any large scale trials and is advised against by AZ and WHO.

No other country is in the world is using this method that I know of, not even there African continent where vaccines are really scarce, its foolhardy with no peer reviewed evidence that it will work.

6 hours ago, actonion said:

Use of a computer requires  a little education  

 

Should have sent it via TikTok, Anutin's good at that, likes to sing occasionally on there https://www.tiktok.com/@nituna1966?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

28 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Fine, just so it's also clear that all the potential immunological and reactogenic drawbacks mentioned in the BMJ article apply to subcutaneous injection, not intradermal injection.

 

Furthermore, it is not against all the international scientific evidence on covid vaccine administration. I already quoted from a study by Dutch scientists into administering the Moderna vaccine intradermally, and which states that:

 

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20210802/Intradermal-administration-of-low-dose-mRNA-COVID-19-vaccine-induces-strong-immune-response-study-finds.aspx

Phuket is using subcutaneous injections:

"The subcutaneous, or under-the-skin injection is method used in this latest campaign, replaces vaccination into muscle, with only 10-15 minutes of observation needed following the jab, instead of the previous 30 minutes, as acute side effects, such as low temperature, exhaustion, and headaches are less likely than in the conventional method, with an equivalent immunity boost, based on scientific research,

The subcutaneous injection will allow doctors to administer approximately four times more shots of vaccine than in the conventional method, speeding up the prevention of the Delta variant,Dr. Withita says."

The study you quote is using Intradermal injections and fractional dose regimen of the Moderna vaccine which has a far higher dose than any other vaccine.

4 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

That report is about the potential problems when inadvertent subcutaneous injection occurs while trying to give an intramuscular injection.

 

The Thai medical authorities are not using subcutaneous injections, they are using intradermal injection. There are significant differences between the two.

 

As mentioned in the article linked to above:

 

However it is also more difficult to administer and requires a lot more experience, so is used much less often.

"The manufacturers advise that the vaccine should not be injected intravascularly, subcutaneously or intradermally"

10 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Ok sorry, the writing under the chart is so small I had difficulty reading it!  Yes, you're right, perhaps they could do better.

 

But at least they are not being totally neglected and they seem to be doing well with the comorbidities group.

 

And we should also consider vaccine reluctance as a factor. In our village there was a lot of resistance at first, especially among the old. It wasn't until I went and had mine and my wife started telling them that I felt fine that they began to change their minds. 

 

Don't forget, vaccination is voluntary and it's had a lot of bad rap on social media.

 

 

No they are not being totally neglected just not prioritized, ie the most neglected, being the highest at risk group then Thailand could and should have done far far better, total neglect on vaccination priority which is still occurring today.

6 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

I haven't seen any figures that show the demographic breakdown of vaccinations and this chart shows nothing in that respect. When you say 'the over 60's have been one of the least vaccinated in all categories', are you taking into account that they are probably the smallest sector of the community?

 

The WHO Thailand stats that are shown are taken as they should be taken, the percentage of each population category and as you can see the elderly have thus far been the least prioritized of all categories.

What is it you do not understand about that?

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

 

@Scrotobike is right IMO. I've saying this for quite some time. Vaccinate and protect the vulnerable then open up the country and allow the young to catch and spread the virus. Because that's route to herd immunity which is what the country and indeed the world ultimately needs.

 

Stop hiding from it!

 

I will point out that in our province, it was the old and vulnerable that were prioritized when it came to vaccination. I can proudly boast that I was the first person in our village to be vaccinated.

Your village is one of the lucky ones, although it does seem villages have been taking the priority roll out more responsibly, the stats for Thailand as a whole however is very different, the over 60's have been one of the least vaccinated in all categories. They have not been prioritized as claimed and the general public all ages overtake them by far.

As for your comment "allow the young to catch it and spread the virus" sort of destroys all logic and sense.

https://www.who.int/thailand/emergencies/novel-coronavirus-2019/situation-reports