cormanr7

Major question of course is why the results were poor viz BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines.

People tend to point to new variants as a reason but actually the afore mentioned mRNA vaccines seem to be relatively effective against those. The following article discusses some aspects of the Curevac approach based on what is publicly known (which is not that much):

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/curevacs-covid-vaccine-setback-shows-not-all-mrna-jabs-are-equal-11623993200438.html

You could look at the immigration website where they are all available in PDF form:

https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?page_id=3202

The 40/400k insurance requirement for NON-O holders applying for a COE seems to depend on the embassy (or maybe even to whom you speak, see comments above on the UK). For instance, the Thai Embassy website in the Netherlands clearly states that it IS required. Whether it is actually enforced is unclear, would like to hear from anyone who has actually gone through the process.

No, you could make an on-line appointment at CW, go there 90 min early to make copies of passport etc, make pictures if necessary (100B), arrange your bank letter (except for SCB) and fill in the various papers All this in the basement. Regarding paperwork, ask for TM.7 form at the counter when you enter immigration division 1 (first floor or ground floor depending where you come from) and say it is for retirement extension. They then should hand you the additional forms (overstay rules, I still live  at..... and a few more). Assuming your paperwork is OK it will then take ca. 15 min to process your application at the appropriate L-counter and another 15 to 60 min to wait for your passport to be returned with the required signature. At least this is how it worked for me end of April (for me not the first extension though). 

18 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

 I wonder if a mix of the AZ vaccine with a second jab of either Moderna, Pfizer or JJ has been studied yet.  

Is being studied at the moment, for some discussion see this article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01359-3 and https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/countries-weigh-mix-match-covid-19-vaccines-2021-05-24/

Slightly off-topic, but Novavax has reported good results for their large scale trials (mainly conducted in US and Mexico) with efficacy -depending on variant- of up to 90%. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/health/covid-vaccine-novavax.html. It confirms earlier results from an UK trial  https://ir.novavax.com/news-releases/news-release-details/novavax-covid-19-vaccine-demonstrates-893-efficacy-uk-phase-3

This one is interesting as it is neither an mRNA (BioNTech-Pfizer Curevac, Moderna, ), viral vector  (AZ, Janssen, Sputnik) or inactivated virus (Sinovac, Sinopharm) vaccine  but rather contains a full length spike protein. Presumably this S-protein is from the original sequence or an early variant.

There appear to be problems in large-scale production so won't be available before September at best. Can be kept at 2-8^oC.

And yes,  some of the names here refer to the manufacturer and others to the name of the vaccine, but this is how they are best known.

Three stories related to the topic:

1. WHO saying that virus outpaces vaccininations: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/15/coronavirus-outpacing-vaccine-effort-says-who-after-g7-doses-pledge

2. Delta variant now detected in more than 70 countries: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/14/delta-variant-of-covid-spreading-rapidly-and-detected-in-74-countries

 3. Some countries/territories will reduce time between vaccinations with AZ and/or Pfizer due to rise of the Delta variant: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-57424707, https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/interval-between-astrazeneca-vaccine-doses-to-be-reduced-1.4584636

5 hours ago, MikeWill said:

What is the recommended time interval between jabs for AstraZeneca vaccine?

 

I got my first jab on 10 June and the appointment for the second jab on 29 September (appr 18 weeks). 

Should it be 8 to 12 weeks?

The interval you quote is not 18 weeks.

Here is a sheet from the NHS discussing the interval which is indeed between 8 and 12 weeks, depending on the group https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2021/03/C1254-covid-19-vaccination-programme-faqs-on-second-dose-v2.pdf. Basically those in groups 1-9 (elderly, underlying conditions etc) have a recommend interval of 8-9 weeks, whereas for lower risk groups it is 11-12 weeks. Question is whether vaccine shortage rather than scientific parameters determine the interval between shots. This article in the Lancet discusses effect of interval on efficacy of the AZ vaccine: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00432-3/fulltext. It suggests that between 8 and 16 weeks (the longest period tested) post first shot the interval does not make much difference -possibly slightly better after 12+ weeks- though case numbers are quite low and CI consequently high. On a different note, one shot gives less protection than two shots, so the longer the interval period the more risk you run. 

This is supposed to be the official Thai vaccination passport, a sort of copy of the familiar yellow vaccination book: https://scandasia.com/thailand-introduces-international-vaccine-passport-for-traveling-abroad/ I have not seen one in real life and whether such a paper, apparently hand-signed booklet will satisfy immigration officials abroad remains to be seen (the EU vaccine passport, for instance, has a digital signature. 

46 minutes ago, Lucian said:

Tks dsj. Logged into my account at thailandintervac.com. Initially gave me a scare as it stated that my registration details were incomplete and have to re-register. However after I clicked on "edit" it displayed the registration page with some of my particulars missing (which I definitely had filled in prior). After completing the missing details, I clicked on the Appointment section and saw the 5 colorful boxes to download/print appointment, screening etc. Hope that's all I need on the 22/6/21 to get my AZ vax; which I had selected during the registration/booking process I did on 7 June but somehow I just don't feel confident that I will get the AZ!

Same here. Although I had filled in everything in my initial application, some fields were blank now and had to be re-populated after pressing edit. You than click 'check eligibility' and get a number of clickable links that lead to a few PDFs (including one with a que number and another with details on vaccine lot, next appointment etc, presumably to be filled in by the staff on the spot) that you download. Never received an e-mail.  Appointment date and time were the same as in the original application.

12 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

18 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

     I registered yesterday starting at 3:00pm.  The site said that it was successful. But I could not make appointment since it was greyed out.  But now it appears some people on the forum are saying they were able to make appointment. Some are saying they got an email confirmation and a number of their place in line.  I have not gotten any of these.  Just a box at the end of the registration saying Im registered.

 

I am somewhere in between. Registered yesterday, got an appointment date and time slot, but no e-mail so far.

Latest on the website is that it will only be active between 12.00 and 15.00. Earlier in the morning it still indicated that it would open at 09.00. Chaos.

I have just now been able to book AZ vaccination at Phyathai hospital on June 22nd, the earliest date not greyed out. You now have to wait for an e-mail confirmation.

Interesting article in the thaiger on Phuket, noting that many COVID restrictions have just been extended 'until further notice' and the many questions regarding the 'reopening' on July 1st.

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/phuket-extends-current-covid-restrictions-from-june-1-until-further-notice-update

Alternative techniques are often just a way to circumvent existing patents, they are not necessarily better.

When it comes to cold storage, Moderna now claims that its vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 3 months (https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/moderna-covid-vaccine-can-remain-stable-at-refrigerated-temps-for-3-months.html#:~:text=The%20mRNA%20vaccine%20is%20approved%20to%20be%20stored%20in%20a,shelf%20life%20for%20the%20vaccine). Work is continuing on, amongst others, freeze-dried mRNA vaccines and BionTech-Pfizer will apparently soon start a phase III trial   https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/future-covid-19-vaccines-might-not-have-to-be-kept-so-cold

For a  -very brief- article on the Wuhan Lab see this article in Nature from 2017 which makes some interesting observations: https://www.nature.com/news/inside-the-chinese-lab-poised-to-study-world-s-most-dangerous-pathogens-1.21487 . Note that this does not confirm that the SARS-CoV-2 escaped from this lab. but neither should it come as a great surprise if it was indeed the case.

For what it is worth, my experience with buying the (850 B) Roojai policy: received an SMS ca 48h after paying saying that details had been forwarded by e-mail. Found three PDFs (letterhead from KPI), these were password protected (password is your passport number):

1. Your policy number is ................

2. Coverage

3. Invoice.

16 hours ago, asiacurious said:

“I would be careful about over-interpreting the data,” said Petrovsky at Flinders University, who points out that no head-to-head studies -- where shots are tested against each other -- have been performed to identify the best vaccines. For the mRNA shots, “data on their effects on transmission is very limited.”

Maybe he is not aware that in the UK more than 37 million people have received either one shot of either the Pfizer or the AZ vaccine and some 21 million two shots, so that should allow a head to head comparison, assuming that it is followed up properly.

You can look at flightradar24 (or other live tracking sites), for instance this morning AY141 from Helsinki landed on time. Flightaware gives some history roughly last 12-14 days), shows that AY141 landed 10 times since May 10th.

In theory it is possible that they only carry cargo but actually I think they are running passenger flights, at least on AY142 (BKK-Helsinki). Local contacts: +6624304791, or [email protected] (and they are supposed to have a live chat function which you can find on their website).

29 minutes ago, steveb6 said:

. It is open for everyone from 18 years and older so there is no age limit so there are so many people who have registered.

But will they handle vaccinations in order of registration (first come, first served) or prioritize vulnerable groups (60+, underlying conditions etc)? If they have started vaccinations already, this should probably be known by now.   

18 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

But the report was probably done before your current extension ended. T

Correct.