TallGuyJohninBKK

I'm saying I choose to take reasonable precautions to protect my health, and wearing a high-quality face mask when outside and among others is not unreasonable for me, especially vs. the risks from COVID. If you noticed, there really weren't any COVID threads or news reports regarding Thailand cases in the past few months... because weekly new COVID hospitalizations were in the 100s.... But now suddenly in the past two months, that weekly number has skyrocketed to more than 500 per week. For me, a common sense person would take notice of that kind of change and react accordingly.

Except when you keep getting reinfected because people don't take enough precautions: Repeat COVID infections appear to predispose patients to disease, death Repeat SARS-CoV-2 infections confer significant additional risk of adverse multi-organ medical conditions and poor outcomes such as hospitalization, diabetes, kidney disease, mental illness, death, and diseases affecting the lungs, heart, brain, blood, and musculoskeletal systems, suggests a study published yesterday in Nature Medicine. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-19-scan-nov-11-2022

And 1,000+ people are dying from COVID every week in the U.S. right now, along with 300+ more per week in the U.K., with little mask wearing occurring there despite pleas from the public health authorities. Is that what you're trying to argue should be the examples to be followed? https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths?areaType=overview&areaName=United Kingdom https://aseannow.com/topic/1313819-spike-in-covid-cases-as-1000-americans-die-every-week/

Immunity from prior infections is temporary and waning over time, and even more so when the virus variant from a person's original infection ends up being very different from the latest COVID variants circulating in the world. Past infections aren't any kind of ticket to COVID-free futures. But prior COVID infections do come with a potential long list of both short-term and long-term health risks and complications. Repeat COVID infections appear to predispose patients to disease, death Repeat SARS-CoV-2 infections confer significant additional risk of adverse multi-organ medical conditions and poor outcomes such as hospitalization, diabetes, kidney disease, mental illness, death, and diseases affecting the lungs, heart, brain, blood, and musculoskeletal systems, suggests a study published yesterday in Nature Medicine. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-19-scan-nov-11-2022 COVID-19 can cause brain shrinkage, memory loss - study "March 8 (Reuters) - COVID-19 can cause the brain to shrink, reduce grey matter in the regions that control emotion and memory, and damage areas that control the sense of smell, an Oxford University study has found. The scientists said that the effects were even seen in people who had not been hospitalised with COVID, and whether the impact could be partially reversed or if they would persist in the long term needed further investigation." https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/covid-19-can-cause-brain-shrinkage-memory-loss-study-2022-03-08/

The latest from the CDC... the COVID trends in general are UP! And weekly COVID deaths remain above 1,000 per week, as per the OP report. Rising Emergency Dept visits and hospitalizations for COVID now usually translate into rising numbers of COVID deaths in future weeks. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home

The many studies that support masking include studies done in the real world reflecting real world experience.

Wearing face masks to prevent COVID and wearing helmets for safety while riding motorcycles are kind of akin to walking and chewing gum. The more sensible among us can manage to do both, even at the same time if desired.

I guess that's why, as RedPhoenix correctly reiterated above, I included the following details and CDC explanation of the blue versus gray sections of their COVID deaths graphic above. Even bolded it for the reading challenged: "Data during recent periods are incomplete because of the lag in time between when a death occurs and when a death certificate is completed, submitted to NCHS, and processed for reporting. This delay can range from 1 week to 8 weeks or more, depending on the jurisdiction. The most recent 3 weeks of mortality counts are shaded grey and mortality rates shown as dotted lines because NVSS reporting is <95% during this period."

The U.S. FDA gave full approval to the Pfizer COVID vaccine back in August 2021, and Moderna after that in January 2022. Only the subsequent booster versions of the vaccines are still under emergency use authorizations. FDA grants full approval to Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/23/health/fda-approval-pfizer-covid-vaccine/index.html FDA Takes Key Action by Approving Second COVID-19 Vaccine "Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a second COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine; the approved vaccine will be marketed as Spikevax for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older." https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-takes-key-action-approving-second-covid-19-vaccine Similar for other countries around the world.

"Data during recent periods are incomplete because of the lag in time between when a death occurs and when a death certificate is completed, submitted to NCHS, and processed for reporting. This delay can range from 1 week to 8 weeks or more, depending on the jurisdiction. The most recent 3 weeks of mortality counts are shaded grey and mortality rates shown as dotted lines because NVSS reporting is <95% during this period." "Deaths include those with COVID-19, coded to ICD–10 code U07.1, as an underlying or contributing cause of death on the death certificate." https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00

The US government may be done with Covid, but recent CDC data shows an alarming number of Americans are still dying from the respiratory disease "Nearly four years into the pandemic, hundreds of Americans are still dying every day from Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The virus is responsible for around 1,000 deaths and 15,000 hospitalisations each week, CDC Director Mandy Cohen said during a media briefing on 2 December. Death rates briefly dipped below 500 per week in July, the lowest rates since the pandemic began, before steadily increasing to as high as 1,400 in September." (more) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/covid-symptoms-cases-new-spike-b2460186.html

Daughter's 'rage' over former PM Johnson's Covid comments 8th December 2023 "The daughter of a woman who died during the coronavirus pandemic has said she is "incandescent with rage" following former prime minister Boris Johnson’s testimony at the Covid inquiry. Covid patient Susan Handley from Tamworth, Staffordshire, died in November 2020. ... Mrs Handley's daughter Victoria said she wanted accountability from decision-makers, and an admission that families were let down. She said: “We’re incandescent with rage at the moment, and there’s nothing taking that away until Boris Johnson owns up to what he’s done.” (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c192d3ev19ro

Range of viral, bacterial infections are circulating while Canadian hospitals remain under strain Dec 08, 2023 "It's another busy fall in Canadian hospitals, with emergency department closures, long wait times, and ongoing staff shortages all making headlines. The situation can turn deadly: Two people died while waiting for care at the Anna-Laberge hospital in Châteauguay, Que., just last week. And as health-care teams remain dangerously overstretched, they're also grappling with the pressure of what some physicians are calling a "new norm" for seasonal illnesses — a range of viral and bacterial infections all back in circulation, with COVID-19 still chief among them." (more) https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-flu-rsv-pneumonia-1.7052339

Covid inquiry: I did not back a 'let it rip' policy, says Boris Johnson 8th December 2023 "Boris Johnson has insisted he did not pursue a "let it rip" strategy during the coronavirus pandemic. Giving evidence to the Covid inquiry, he said he did offer counter arguments in order to challenge the consensus in meetings. He argued his actions proved he worked to curb the virus, rather than allowing it to spread through the population." https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67646548

"Even after the billions of doses given during the pandemic, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines still hold surprises. A study out today [6 Dec 2023] reveals they may unexpectedly prompt cells to produce small amounts of unintended proteins. There is no evidence that these mistakes compromise the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, which saved millions of lives, and the researchers have already proposed a fix that may help make future vaccines or drugs based on mRNAs safer and even more effective. Other scientists say there is nothing alarming about the new work, reported today in Nature, and agree that it could help improve the design of mRNA treatments still under development." (more) https://www.science.org/content/article/mrna-vaccines-may-make-unintended-proteins-there-s-no-evidence-harm

Masks only have the potential to work when people actually wear them... It's kind of a somewhat futile exercise to require kids to wear masks in school (if they really were required to wear them) and then have them go maskless after school and while out socializing and at home where family members may have been outside and around others all day without masks.

That very brief report is talking about a snapshot of behavior during a couple months period of the UK's original lockdown -- and nowhere in there does it mention or address protective behaviors like face masking or social distancing, but instead is focused on past "lockdown compliance." And one of the only actual compliance behaviors it specifically mentions was whether people complied with a 20 mph speed limit in Wales during that time!!! "One example the researchers point to is the introduction of the 20mph limit in Wales. The existing campaign to inform the public of the speed limit change, which focuses primarily on the lives potentially saved by driving slower is unlikely to encourage compliance from more agentic personalities. A broader campaign, which also focuses on personal costs and benefits of compliance with the change would target a wider range of personality types more effectively, the researchers say." That certainly tells us a lot!!!

And let's throw the kids under the COVID bus, while you're at it..... COVID-19 hospital admissions among children rising again September 19, 2023 "In the past three months, the number of children with confirmed COVID-19 at hospital admission has risen consistently, with children under 5 years at highest risk. ... Recent analysis of the data shows the number of children under age 18 with confirmed COVID-19 at hospital admission increased nearly five-fold from 237 new admissions the week ending June 17 to 1,175 in the week ending Sept. 9. ... The number of new weekly COVID-19 admissions for children ages 0-4 years increased from 116 to 550." https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/26147/COVID-19-hospital-admissions-among-children-rising?searchresult=1

Probably because diet and exercise don't prevent or even reduce the risks that you'll catch the COVID virus (though being fit will help reduce your chances of serious illness from it), whereas quality face mask have been proven (as documented by my prior sourced posts in this thread) to actually reduce the risks you'll catch COVID in the first place. The best protection against a virus and disease is to not catch it in the first place.

Statista says there were more than 50,000 COVID deaths in the UK during 2022: Cumulative number of coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths in the United Kingdom (UK) Added COVID deaths during 2022: 50,652 https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109595/coronavirus-mortality-in-the-uk/

You're mistaken... because (and the OP news report didn't do a very good job of clarifying this) the data reported by the doctor in the OP was ONLY for HIS ONE hospital alone for the month of November... And, he wasn't counting new COVID HOSPITALIZATIONS as the government does for its weekly national reports, but instead was just reporting and counting positive TESTS for COVID and other diseases, again, just at his ONE hospital only... Via Google Translate of his FB post: "Last November 2566, data of Vichaiyut Hospital that tracked respiratory infections caused by COVID-19, RSV (RSV) and Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) Last month, 545 COVID infected cases were found. Continuous increase." He's posting about his hospital's COVID positive ATK and RT-PCR test results, with the red columns below showing those tallies by month for 2023 vs the green showing for 2022: The monthly test results for ONE hospital out of hundreds in Thailand. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0L619GteN5Yrg6GvEbxjih9ZwXdWN2aytF5vTYQj4zYCMafG2oMW8r1oM1U6yNhwml&id=100066692243273

Hey, it's just 300+ UK COVID deaths per week right now: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths?areaType=overview&areaName=United Kingdom

The numbers may be different for Thailand, which has a serious diabetes problem, and doesn't readily make public this kind of info... But the U.S. does (2022 year is the latest available data, 2023 not available yet): https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7218a3.htm

Disposable face masks don't have to be worn only once, and then after that they cease to be effective... They can be reworn, as long as they're kept clean and stored properly. Also... per the U.S. CDC: Wear a Mask to Protect Yourself and Others Masking is a critical public health tool and it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask. Wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/masks.html Information about our most popular models of 3M N95 Respirators (sometimes referred to as “masks”) "There is no time limit to wearing an N95. Respirators can be worn until they are dirty, damaged, or difficult to breathe through. To be effective, a respirator needs to be worn correctly and worn throughout the duration of the hazardous exposure." https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/worker-health-safety-us/covid19/my-n95/

For which, one of the best available protections (when away from air purified spaces) is wearing an N95 or similar face mask -- at least until Thailand gets serious about reducing its air pollution problem. So really, face masking is a two-fer, or three-fer or more... N95s and similar, when worn properly and consistently, protect against COVID, protect against PM2.5, protect against flu and RSV, etc etc.