TallGuyJohninBKK

Just a look at the U.S. part of this, which seems at odds with the graphic from the OP article: Overall U.S. Death Rate Back to ‘Normal,’ COVID Pandemic Over "July 18, 2023 -- In the worst periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, 30% more Americans than normal were dying each day. But now, that percentage of “excess deaths” has bottomed out and is “no longer historically abnormal,” as The New York Times put it. ... The improvement is due to three main factors, The Times reports: About 75% of adults have received at least one vaccine shot About 75% have had COVID, and received natural immunity from future symptoms Treatments for infected people have become widely available." https://www.webmd.com/covid/news/20230718/overall-u-s-death-rate-back-to-normal-covid-pandemic-over

October 20, 2023 Damning evidence of war crimes as Israeli attacks wipe out entire families in Gaza As Israeli forces continue to intensify their cataclysmic assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, Amnesty International has documented unlawful Israeli attacks, including indiscriminate attacks, which caused mass civilian casualties and must be investigated as war crimes. The organization spoke to survivors and eyewitnesses, analysed satellite imagery, and verified photos and videos to investigate air bombardments carried out by Israeli forces between 7 and 12 October, which caused horrific destruction, and in some cases wiped out entire families. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/

I'm not taking a personal side in this dispute/war and which side is entitled to what.... but... My news updates today say the latest death toll reported in Gaza has now exceeded 10,000. And my update from the Washington Post today talks of Israeli strikes hitting refugee camps, hospitals, schools, water towers, etc. "Entire families have been killed; infants are buried with their parents in mass graves. Strikes have hit water towers and bakeries, schools and ambulances. Human rights groups have flagged a growing number of strikes as potential war crimes and urged an international investigation." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/05/israel-strike-targets-gaza-civilians-hamas/ and yet Netanyahu is talking above about 'operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents"... Huh????

How long will the COVID-19 vaccine last once I have had 2 doses? "Protection against getting infected does appear to wane over time. Protection against death and severe disease also drops over time, but more slowly. You can increase your protection by getting a booster from 6 months after your primary course. All adults can get a booster if it’s been 6 months or longer since their last COVID-19 booster or confirmed infection (whichever is most recent) for additional protection against severe illness from COVID. This is particularly recommended for people at higher risk of severe illness, including: everyone 65 years and over everyone 18 years and over with medical comorbidities, disability or complex health needs." https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/covid-19-vaccines/is-it-true/is-it-true-how-long-will-the-covid-19-vaccine-last-once-i-have-had-2-doses

Yes, you're clearly missing something: The public health authorities around the world have been very clear in stressing that two original COVID vaccines, so-called primary vaccination only, typically given long ago one to two years ago or more at this point, are going to have very minimal protection against the current Omicron variants, especially when it comes to just reducing infections (though supposedly somewhat better against serious illness). As they've said repeatedly, to be well protected, you ideally need to have your original vaccinations PLUS a third booster shot, typically with last year's 2nd gen bivalent vaccines.... and now are recommending additional vaccination with the newest monovalent vaccines keyed to the latest circulating XBB descendant strains. I'm guessing the share of the Australian population that meet the criteria of those kinds of vaccinations is pretty small, especially since the new monovalent vaccines haven't been made publicly available yet in Australia. "In October, the Therapeutic Goods Administration assessed and provisionally approved new monovalent COVID-19 vaccines, but further assessment is ongoing. Availability dates have not yet been made public, but the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is expected to provide updated advice in the coming weeks." https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/covid-19-cases-are-rising-around-australia-are-we-in-an-eighth-wave-of-infections/y9fn676a7 It's very much like the flu vaccine. Getting vaccinated two years ago or last year really isn't going to help so much for this season's flu. COVID vaccines are likely going to become an annual thing, and seem headed toward being combined with annual flu vaccine shots.

And that's not including the other well-informed folks who believe the Moon landings were faked or that the Earth is really flat. And in another measure of just how bogus this Rasmussen claim is, last time I checked in Google search, their supposed poll results basically have been widely ignored by major news outlets based in the U.S. -- national wire services, major newspapers, mainstream TV network news, etc. ( cue the "it's all a conspiracy" claims... 😞 ) According to Google search, for the most part, just this AseanNow thread created by an avowed anti-vaxer on the forum, and a lot of non-credible alt-right websites that wouldn't even be allowed as news sources here.

In the last reporting period, COVID-19 numbers increased in all Australian states and territories. Experts say it marks the beginning of a new wave of infections. 2 November 2023 ... "According to the Department of Health and Aged Care, surveillance indicators suggest COVID-19 transmission has been gradually increasing since mid to late-August. In the week ending 24 October, 6,550 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Australia, an average of 936 cases per day. This marked an increase of 23.6 per cent nationally. In the same period, the number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 increased by an average of 17.5 per cent to 1,245." (more) https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/covid-19-cases-are-rising-around-australia-are-we-in-an-eighth-wave-of-infections/y9fn676a7 A video news report on the same: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-06/evidence-suggests-covid-cases-are-climbing-again/103069502 AND "...it's also important to note that these graphs only chart confirmed COVID-19 cases, which may be much lower than the actual number of cases due to a drop in mandatory reporting." Victorians advised to wear a mask "On October 26, Victoria's acting chief health officer Christian McGrath announced community transmission of COVID-19 had increased to levels not observed since May. Dr McGrath has suggested all Melburnians consider donning masks again in public places." https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-03/covid-wave-incoming-case-figures-reporting-booster/103054678

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Oct. 29 to Nov. 4: --304 new COVID hospitalizations --1 new COVID death --63 COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition --43 COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation to breathe. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Regarding the relevance and expected effectiveness of the new monovalent COVID vaccines against the currently circulating HV.1 variant, as has been previously noted in another thread where you made the same kind of comments as above: My response: Fortunately, both of the more recent primary COVID variants are descendants of the XBB family variant that was/is the basis for the newest monovalent vaccines, so there's expected to be continuing protection. "Both are descendants of the XBB variant. The updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, which became available last month, target a different XBB descendant, called XBB.1.5. But disease experts say the new shots should offer cross-protection against the currently dominant strains. Dr. Scott Roberts, an infectious disease specialist at Yale Medicine, said that although the vaccine is not a "perfect match" for HV.1, "it’s still a good match because it’s still within the same family of variant." https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-covid-variant-dominant-slow-vaccine-uptake-rcna122361

Over 15 million Americans got updated COVID vaccines so far November 2, 2023 "WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Over 15 million people in the United States, around 4.5% of the population, had received the updated COVID-19 shots by Oct. 27, a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson said on Wednesday, lagging behind last year's vaccinations. Close to 23 million people had received updated boosters as of Oct. 26 last year, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows. The 2022 fall vaccination campaign started around 10 days earlier than this year's. ... The updated shots from Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech (22UAy.DE), Moderna (MRNA.O) or Novavax (NVAX.O) are single-target vaccines aimed at the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant of the coronavirus, which was dominant in the U.S. for much of this year but has since been overtaken by other variants as the virus evolves." (more) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/over-15-mln-americans-got-updated-covid-vaccines-so-far-2023-11-01/

Thailand doesn't have any of the newer, monovalent boosters that have been rolled out recently in the U.S., UK and elsewhere... However, particularly for people at higher risk for COVID such as the older folks and those with chronic health issues, even last year's bivalent boosters from Pfizer and Moderna should help restore some of the protection that's waned since a person's last prior shot, likely many months prior. One reason to wait, of course, would be if the person had any expectation of being able to obtain the newer monovalent vaccines anytime in the near future, and/or prior to any activities that would put them at extra risk, such as community holiday and family gatherings, etc etc.

Since the OP is referencing the BKK area, the best course probably is to contact your nearest district Ministry of Public Health center and ask what nearby government hospitals, if any, are still providing the vaccines. Or do the same directly if you have a government hospital in your area. This below is the last public thing I've seen re Bangkok as of mid Oct. If the hospital below isn't still giving vaccines, the staff there reachable at the contact phone number might also know who is. Luangphor Thaweesak Chutintharo Uthit Hospital Open for vaccination service COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer (walk in) October 2023 - Adults and children over 5 years old, Thursday 12, 19 and 26 October. - Children aged 6 months - 5 years, Thursday 12 and 26 October At the Social Security inspection room from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. For more information, please contact the hospital's UMSC Center. 0-2429-3575 to 81 press 0 (on business days and times) Source: Luangphor Thaweesak Chutintharo Uthit Hospital https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/posts/pfbid0FPBFtHAv4wn8zxRUUCiPgabjPo6p1LbcMMn8qhQpjt3wVHGGdteXxA1tp7cA9CBBl The Thai Ministry of Public Health should be communicating about such things. But they don't appear to be doing so at all these days, with the recent election and turnover in government leadership and the minister in charge of MoPH.

Physicians linked to COVID-19 misinformation rarely disciplined Wednesday, July 26th, 2023 "Physicians who provided medical misinformation that affected patient's care throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have seen few consequences, The Washington Post found. ... The Post analyzed disciplinary records from medical boards in all 50 states. At least 20 doctors nationally were disciplined for complaints of COVID-19 misinformation between January 2020 and June 2023. Five of those physicians lost their medical licenses, with one revoked and four surrendered." https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/physicians-linked-to-covid-19-misinformation-rarely-disciplined.html

1. The study I cited on preventable COVID deaths in the U.S. was done by a respected Ivy League U.S. university, and had absolutely nothing to do with the Neil Ferguson UK researcher you cite. 2. As to the actual findings, other separate, prior U.S. research has made similar findings. But if you think the Brown University research is not credible, feel free to try to find any credible science or fact check site that says their methods and research were wrong. "The national number of vaccine-preventable COVID deaths calculated by Brown and Microsoft exceeds an earlier analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which put that number at 234,000. Cynthia Cox, director of the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker and a co-author of that analysis, tells NPR that differences in methodology may explain the discrepancy. Unlike the KFF analysis, the new analysis included data on how many Americans were boosted — so the vaccine-preventable death total includes people who never got vaccinated, along with those whose vaccine protection had waned and who had not received a booster." In other words, a likely more accurate projection than the earlier KFF one. But still delivering the same basic message and conclusions. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/05/13/1098071284/this-is-how-many-lives-could-have-been-saved-with-covid-vaccinations-in-each-sta

Asking such a question referring to Australia's vaccines regulator, instead of coming right out and promoting misinformation, still means you're wrong. Spike in deaths in Australia from COVID illnesses, not vaccine "While a recent analysis found that the country saw a higher than expected number of deaths in 2022, it also concluded coronavirus vaccines weren’t the cause. Government officials and experts in Australia concur, saying the rise in deaths is largely the result of COVID-19 infections, not vaccine-related deaths." https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-covid-coronavirus-vaccine-australia-125014733236

Of course, the doctor wasn't suspended for anything she did in the way of treatment of her patients, at least according to the news reports. She was suspended for loudly and publicly proclaiming and promoting a bunch of nonsense anti-vax misinformation and COVID conspiracy theories. And according to the news reports, showing absolutely no remorse for the damages she likely caused for people who followed her advice.

Research studies have estimated that had 100% of American adults been fully vaccinated, the COVID death toll just between January 2021 and April 2022 could have been cut in half, and nearly 319,000 lives saved just during that period alone. And among those who still would have died, a lot of those would have been because you can't suddenly vaccinate a country of 300+ million people overnight. The vaccine rollout took time to reach the population. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/05/13/1098071284/this-is-how-many-lives-could-have-been-saved-with-covid-vaccinations-in-each-sta

No, the 86% is just the portion who did NOT report having Long COVID at some point... You're missing the overall 47% in the survey who reported they had had COVID... And of course, the 1.1 million Americans who weren't around anymore to answer the survey because they had already died from COVID.

...

No, that's not what that means. Because, for starters, a sizeable portion of the 1.1 million U.S. COVID deaths occurred during 2020 before COVID vaccines became widely available in 2021... "The final, official tally of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. for 2020 was 350,831." https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/podcasts/2022/20220107/20220107.htm And then after that, sizeable portions of the U.S. public both a] either didn't complete primary vaccinations at all (30%), and didn't get the subsequent booster shots needed to combat subsequent COVID variants (83%), and b] sizeable portions of the U.S. public resisted/ignored common-sense, recommended protective measures like face masking and social distancing. So the bottom line is, lots of Americans never did fully follow the various measures aimed at protecting them from COVID that, while not providing any 100% guarantees, certainly helped substantially reduce the COVID risk for those who did follow them. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-booster-percent-pop5

For U.S. issued bank cards, the federal consumer protection rules regarding fraudulent debit card transactions are very similar to those covering credit cards, so long as the cardholder notifies the card issuing entity promptly upon become aware of the fraud. By law, the debit card holder MIGHT be on the hook for the first $50 of a fraudulent transaction, though in my experience banks often don't pursue that, whereas a US VISA or MC cardholder typically would have zero liability. "In most cases, federal law limits your liability for unauthorized debit card purchases to $50, provided you report the fraud within two business days of discovering it. If you report debit card fraud after two business days, but less than 60 calendar days after receiving your account statement, you could be liable for up to $500. If you don't report the fraud within 60 calendar days of receiving your statement, you could be liable for any amount stolen from your account." Note that the 2-day reference is NOT 2 business days from the occurrence of the fraud, but rather, two business days after the cardholder becomes aware of the fraud. https://www.usnews.com/banking/articles/are-debit-cards-protected-from-fraud

With credit and debit cards, it depends on the banking laws/rules in the country where the card was issued. Thailand has very little legally enforced national consumer protection against fraudulent credit and debit card charges. But U.S. issued VISA and MCs have total or almost total protection against fraudulent transactions that's written into federal law and enforced, as long as the cardholder notifies the card issuer promptly after becoming aware of the fraud.

"One in seven people in the US reported having had long COVID by the end of 2022, suggests a large-scale investigation of long COVID and symptom prevalence by academics at UCL and Dartmouth. Having had long COVID is associated with anxiety and low mood, as well as an increased likelihood of continued physical mobility problems and challenges with memory, concentration or understanding, according to the findings published in PLOS ONE. ... The researchers found that nearly half (47%) of people surveyed reported having had COVID-19 at some point, while 14% of the total had had long COVID at some point, half of whom (7% of the total) still had long COVID symptoms when answering the survey." (more) https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-11-americans-covid.html At least 14% of Americans have had long COVID Peer-Reviewed Publication University College London ... "The researchers reviewed data from 461,550 people who responded to the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from June to December 2022. They were comparing people who said they had never had Covid-19, with those who had had a Covid-19 infection without lingering symptoms, and those who currently or previously had long Covid. In line with the World Health Organization (WHO), they defined long Covid as the continuation or development of new symptoms at least three months after the initial infection." https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1006678 Also: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-1-7-americans-have-had-long-covid

Report spotlights 52 US doctors who posted potentially harmful COVID misinformation online August 17, 2023 "Two new studies describe a couple sources of the COVID-19 "infodemic" on social media: US physicians and proponents and practitioners of "doing your own research." Vaccine untruths, conspiracy theories A mixed-methods study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open finds that 52 physicians practicing in 28 different specialties across the United States propagated COVID-19 misinformation on vaccines, masks, and conspiracy theories on social media and other online platforms from January 2021 to December 2022. ... They noted that about a third of the more than 1.1 million reported COVID-19 deaths in the United States as of January 18, 2023, were considered preventable if public health recommendations such as vaccination and physical distancing had been followed." (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/report-spotlights-52-us-doctors-who-posted-potentially-harmful-covid-misinformation-online

A medical tribunal, sitting in Manchester, found that her actions fell below standards expected of a doctor A doctor who had claimed medical profession and government agents had schemed against her after she publicly called into question Covid jabs for young people has been suspended for a further six months. ... The tribunal found that Dr McCloskey's actions fell below standards expected of a registered doctor and that this amounted to misconduct, which was considered serious. ... She was suspended after her comments, including that young people were being coerced, bullied, bribed and cajoled into receiving the vaccine, attracted a number of complaints. (more) https://www.sundayworld.com/news/irish-news/derry-doctor-who-called-covid-jab-into-question-suspended-for-further-six-months/a682511071.html Background: GP gets 6-month suspension for 'vitriolic' Covid jab comments A tribunal said her comments risked undermining public faith in other medics ... "Londonderry-based Dr Mary McCloskey claimed the pandemic was a 'figment' of the media and the Government and that jabs don't work and were killing people. She also claimed tests and face masks were being used as a psychological weapons to spread fear and experts were 'laughing' at the public via how they named variants of the virus. In one of her most inflammatory statements on Covid vaccines, she claimed parents were being 'told to line up our children to get something that might kill them, to protect them from something that can’t kill them'." (more) https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/health-news/gp-gets-6-month-suspension-for-vitriolic-covid-jab-comments/ar-AA1jjNFs Note - various of the news reports on this indicate the doctor originally in September 2021 had been given an 18 month interim suspension by authorities, so this latest action added an additional 6 months term. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-foyle-west-58667747