TallGuyJohninBKK

I have Medicare Part D and a Medicare Supplement plan, so I believe I'm covered for the Shingles vax under Part D. I also have been considering the RSV vax, but it's probably a lower priority for me, in part because I'm on the low end of the age range that it has been recommended for in the U.S. I also have seen some reporting lately on findings that it can have a somewhat increased risk (though still very small) for GBS... But haven't had time to dig into the details of that issue as yet to know what to make of it.

Still No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccination Increases Cancer Risk, Despite Posts May 3, 2024 "It has not been shown that COVID-19 vaccines cause or accelerate cancer. Yet opponents of the vaccines say a new review article “has found that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines could aid cancer development.” The review conclusions are mainly based on the misinterpretation of a study on mRNA cancer vaccines in mice. [emphasis added] Clinical trials, involving thousands of people, and multiple studies have shown that the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna are safe. Hundreds of millions of doses have been administered under close monitoring systems that have found serious side effects are rare. Studies have also shown that the vaccines work very well in preventing severe COVID-19 disease and death, saving millions of lives across the globe. There is no evidence to support a link between COVID-19 vaccines and cancer, as we’ve reported. Both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society have stated there’s no information that suggests COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, make it more aggressive or lead to recurrence of cancer." https://www.factcheck.org/2024/05/still-no-evidence-covid-19-vaccination-increases-cancer-risk-despite-posts/

As for Dalgleish's anecdotal cancer claims: Possible increases in cancer rates and lower life expectancy in 2021 are primarily driven by effects of COVID-19, not vaccination ... "Mercola’s article cited a letter by oncologist Angus Dalgleish published in the Daily Sceptic on 26 November 2022. Addressing the British Medical Journal’s editor-in-chief, Dalgleish claimed to have observed new cancer cases or worsening disease among people who had received COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Based on personal observations of patients and colleagues, Dalgleish mentioned a few cases of people who had developed leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and metastatic cancer after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine booster. However, claims based on anecdotes are unreliable without further data that support them. As neurologist Steven Novella explained on Science-Based Medicine, anecdotes are subject to multiple biases, including the fallibility of human memory, reporting bias, and confirmation bias, which make them extremely difficult to interpret and attribute to a specific cause. Therefore, Dalgleish’s testimony alone is insufficient evidence to support the claim that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer or make it worse." https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/possible-increases-cancer-rates-lower-life-expectancy-2021-primarily-effects-of-covid-19-not-vaccination/

The debunked cancer claims are a common weapon used by the anti-vax community, even though there's no credible science to support their claims, as my prior posts above make clear: Turbo cancer is not a thing Katelyn Jetelina and Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD Mar 28, 2024 ... Bottom line "The pandemic caused a significant disruption in cancer screenings, and tragically, that meant many people’s cancer diagnoses were delayed, only to be found when they were late-stage. This started well before Covid-19 vaccines were rolled out, and there is no evidence to suggest Covid-19 vaccines are causing a surge in cancer. Even among younger people like Kate Middleton, who unfortunately, are increasingly being diagnosed with cancer." [emphasis added] Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD, is a resident physician and Yale Emergency Scholar, completing a combined Emergency Medicine residency and research fellowship focusing on health literacy and communication. “Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE)” is written by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, M.P.H. Ph.D.—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. During the day, she is a senior scientific consultant to several organizations, including CDC. https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/turbo-cancer-is-not-a-thing

As for Dalgleish's claims about COVID vaccines and cancer, here's what the more credible sources have to say: U.S. National Cancer Institute: Can COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer? Can the vaccines cause cancer to recur or make it more aggressive? There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer, lead to recurrence, or lead to disease progression. Furthermore, COVID-19 vaccines do not change your DNA (i.e., your genetic code). [emphasis added] ... CDC, NCCN, and other cancer-related organizations urge cancer patients to get COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots. Why? Data show that people with cancer and others with weakened immune systems are at high risk for severe complications from COVID-19. Vaccines have been shown to decrease the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19, even among people with cancer. Plus, we have evidence that the virus can persist in immunocompromised people, which may lead to the rise of new variants. Therefore, vaccinating these individuals—and the population as a whole—continues to be important to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. Updated: October 10, 2023 https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines-people-with-cancer#:~:text=Can COVID-19,your genetic code). AND American Cancer Society: Can COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer or make cancer grow? There is no information that suggests that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer. There is also no information that suggests these vaccines can make cancer grow or recur (come back). [emphasis added] Last Revised: September 9, 2024 https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/coronavirus-covid-19-and-cancer/covid-19-vaccines-in-people-with-cancer.html#:~:text=Can COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer or make cancer grow%3F

Dalgleish himself is a UK right-wing anti-vaxer: "In November 2024, Dalgleish was interviewed in Australia on 2GB and repeated his views on the COVID-19 pandemic. He believed the lockdowns and mask mandates in many countries had been "total madness" and that the "vaccines" were wrongly named and had been "largely ineffective at saving lives" while causing many adverse reactions. Australia's pandemic response had been "absolutely appalling". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Dalgleish

Does Trump's White House even remember what he says on these kinds of topics, or just expects everyone to simply ignore the facts of history, as he so often does: Remarks by President Trump at the Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit December 8, 2020 "I’m honored to welcome doctors, scientists, industry executives, and state and local leaders to our historic Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit. It’s been some journey for all of us. It’s been an incredible success. ... We’re here to discuss a monumental national achievement. From the instant the coronavirus invaded our shores, we raced into action to develop a safe and effective vaccine at breakneck speed. It would normally take five years, six years, seven years, or even more. In order to achieve this goal, we harnessed the full power of government, the genius of American scientists, and the might of American industry to save millions and millions of lives all over the world. We’re just days away from authorization from the FDA, and we’re pushing them hard, at which point we will immediately begin mass distribution. Before Operation Warp Speed, the typical timeframe for development and approval, as you know, could be infinity. And we were very, very happy that we were able to get things done at a level that nobody has ever seen before. The gold standard vaccine has been done in less than nine months." [emphasis added] (more) https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-operation-warp-speed-vaccine-summit/

Quarter of US COVID-19 deaths could have been prevented by [more] vaccination: analysis 04/22/22 A new analysis finds that approximately 234,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 since June 2021 could have been prevented if [more] people had been vaccinated. The analysis from the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation underscores the importance of vaccination, and indicates a significant portion of the heavy toll from the virus could have been prevented. ... “Since vaccines became widely available last summer, a total of 389,000 adults in the United States have died of COVID-19, and 6 in 10 of those deaths – about 234,000 deaths – could have been prevented by timely vaccinations,” the analysis states. “This analysis underscores the importance of continued efforts to increase the number of people vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19.” (more) https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3459664-quarter-of-us-covid-19-deaths-could-have-been-prevented-by-vaccination-analysis/

Is this Trump and the right wing's payback for COVID vaccines that saved millions of Americans' lives during the pandemic? -- COVID vaccines that Trump in his first term kind of helped shepherd forward via the U.S.'s Operation Warp Speed program. It would seem so, apart from just being increasingly anti-science and anti-public health. Report: COVID-19 vaccines saved US $1.15 trillion, 3 million lives December 14, 2022 A Commonwealth Fund study estimates that, through November 2022, COVID-19 vaccines prevented more than 18.5 million US hospitalizations and 3.2 million deaths and saved the country $1.15 trillion. The modeling study estimated hospitalizations and deaths averted through the end of November 2022, at a time when 80% of the US population had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. ... "Without vaccination the U.S. would have experienced 1.5 times more infections, 3.8 times more hospitalizations, and 4.1 times more deaths," the authors wrote. "These losses would have been accompanied by more than $1 trillion in additional medical costs that were averted because of fewer infections, hospitalizations, and deaths." (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/report-covid-19-vaccines-saved-us-115-trillion-3-million-lives

Anti-science and anti-public health stuff popping up all over the anti-science and anti-public health Trump Admin: Internal Trump administration document reveals massive budget cut proposal for federal health agencies (CNN) -- The Trump administration is formulating plans to cut roughly a third of the federal health budget, eliminate dozens of programs and vastly whittle down health agencies, according to an internal document reviewed by CNN. ... The plan calls for steep cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which would see its budget reduced by more than 40% under the administration’s proposal. It also eliminates CDC’s global health center and programs focused on chronic disease prevention, and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention. While some of the agency’s work would be moved into new AHA centers, programs on gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning, minority health and others would be eliminated entirely. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/politics/trump-rfk-jr-budget-cut-health/index.html

The right-wing anti-science, anti-public health lunatics are now running their own nonsense asylum, including with posts like the OP here. Here's why, in part: US political conservatives have deep, unbudging suspicion of science, survey suggests April 16, 2025 A University of Amsterdam study concludes that politically conservative Americans are more skeptical of science than previously thought, including that from fields that contribute to the economic growth and productivity they typically value. ... "Since the 1980s, trust of science among conservatives in America has even been plummeting," senior author Bastiaan Rutjens, PhD, said in a University of Amsterdam news release. "Science is also increasingly dismissed in some circles as a 'leftist hobby' and universities as strongholds of the leftist establishment." Climate, medical, social scientists most distrusted ... Conservatives were most skeptical of climate scientists, medical researchers, and social scientists. "This is likely because findings in these fields often conflict with conservative beliefs, such as a free-market economy or conservative social policies," Rutjens said. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/anti-science/us-political-conservatives-have-deep-unbudging-suspicion-science-survey-suggests

Sheryl, I've got an upcoming Medicare trip back to the U.S. later this year that I was planning to include getting a free Shingles vaccine first shot. I'm also due for a COVID current-year version booster, since it's been about a year since my last one. Do you know anything about the advisability of getting a shingles and COVID vaccine shot at the same time, and whether there are any potential issues in doing so? Thanks! PS - If I needed to wait and do them separately, I'd probably still plan to get the Shingles shot in the U.S. under Medicare, as it's the more expensive one here in Thailand, and then get the COVID one here, if need be....

Vaccines don’t cause autism. So what does? Another CDC/MMR study is a waste. Autism rates are increasing due to complicated factors. Katelyn Jetelina, Andrea Tamayo, and Thomas Farley Mar 20, 2025 "Vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, do not cause autism. This has been thoroughly studied—over 25 epidemiological studies, including a fantastic 2019 analysis of more than 600,000 children in Denmark, have refuted any link. There’s also no biological plausibility: no vaccine component can alter neuron connections, and most brain changes associated with autism occur in utero, well before a child receives vaccines. ... Bottom line Autism diagnoses have increased globally over the last 60 years. Most of this rise is due to changes in how we define and diagnose it, but even standardized tracking suggests an increase. What we do know is that vaccines have nothing to do with it. And every dollar spent chasing that disproven link is a dollar not spent on research that could help parents and children." https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/vaccines-dont-cause-autism-so-what Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD—an epidemiologist, wife, and mom of two little girls. Dr. Jetelina is also a senior scientific consultant to a number of non-profit organizations. YLE reaches over 340,000 people in over 132 countries with one goal: “Translate” the ever-evolving public health science so that people will be well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions.

Another worthless, non-credible anti-vaxer post from the usual suspect. CDC autism report disputes RFK Jr’s claims about why the condition is on the rise April 16, 2025 ... "...the CDC’s experts dispute the idea that the condition is becoming more widespread, despite the rise in its data, instead attributing the uptick in cases to improved diagnostics. The report’s authors say advances in screening and testing “have been apparent” since its last report was published and suggest that “differences in the prevalence of children identified with [autism spectrum disorder] across communities might be due to differences in availability of services for early detection and evaluation and diagnostic practices.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/cdc-autism-report-disputes-rfk-jr-s-claims-about-why-the-condition-is-on-the-rise/ar-AA1D1jQG RFK Jr. kept asking to see the science that vaccines were safe. After he saw it, he dismissed it January 31, 2025 The science on vaccines is clear to doctors and scientists — but not to Kennedy Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician, said the science is clear that measles and other childhood vaccines are safe and not linked to autism. [emphasis added] Kennedy said if shown the data he would recommend those vaccines and “not only will I do that but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise.” So Cassidy pulled out and read aloud definitive scientific conclusions that vaccines don’t cause autism. Kennedy rebuffed him, instead mentioning a recent paper that outside experts have called fundamentally flawed — and Cassidy agreed “has some issues” – in an attempt to counter decades of rigorous studies. The senator told Kennedy his history of “undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me” – and risks casting “a shadow over President Trump’s legacy” if people die of vaccine-preventable diseases should he become health secretary." https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-vaccine-trump-science-autism-9b99621b01f11b7f0bdc81e5a0b82d2b

Another anti-vaxer here citing another in a long line of nutjob non-sources, not surprisingly: "Vernon Edward Coleman (born 1946) is an English conspiracy theorist and writer, who writes on topics related to human health, politics and animal welfare. He was formerly a general practitioner (GP) and newspaper columnist. Coleman's medical claims have been widely discredited and described as pseudoscientific conspiracy theories.[1][2][3] [Emphasis added] Coleman has claimed that COVID-19 is a hoax, that vaccines are dangerous, and that face masks cause cancer. All these claims have been debunked by more senior medical professionals.[36][37][38] Coleman has also claimed the Coronavirus Pandemic has links to the Agenda 21 Conspiracy Theory and the Great Reset Theory, which both suggest a cabal of elite figures are attempting to depopulate the global community. No evidence has been found to support these claims.[39]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Coleman

Let's see just who the "smart" ones were: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status

More unsourced nonsense from a familiar purveyor of same.

My preferred bottled soft drink these days -- which can be somewhat hard to find, though Lotus stores often stock it -- is the Ichitan brand Jasmine green tea no sugar variety with the white colored bottle cap. Just rechecked the label today, and still says "no sugar" and no mention of any artificial sweeteners on the ingredients label.

Couple things: 1. Unfortunately, the OP news report here doesn't say exactly what classes of beverages these new sugar rules and taxes will apply to. Presumably, though the article doesn't say it, they're talking about bottled and canned soft drinks and other similar beverages sold on store shelves. However, I mention it because, if you really want to find A LOT of sugar content, try looking at the typical Starbucks or Amazon Cafe or similar flavored drinks, which are loaded up with the stuff, unless you specifically request a formulation without sugar or with very little sweetening. As far as I can tell, just guessing, there's no sign from the OP report that the referenced taxes are going to apply to THOSE kinds of prepared beverages here... which seems unfair in terms of providing equal treatment. 2. I've never really consumed sugary soft drinks. And even in recent years, about the closest I'd come would be adding a small dash of Oishi Genmai flavor green tea drink (their orange colored bottles) to my otherwise pure flat or pure carbonated soda water, just for a touch of flavoring. I know from looking at the label in the past, the Genmai flavor green tea had some sugar, but not much for me, because I used it very sparingly. But today, after reading the OP report here, I figured I'd recheck the Oishi Genmai bottle label I have at home. And to my surprise and dismay, somewhere along the way, unawares to me, they've changed the formulation to reduce the sugar content to 5g per 200 ml label serving, but at the same time now have added SUCRALOSE as an ingredient, which I certainly don't want in my drink. And the front labeling/packaging of the drink gives no clue that they've added Sucralose to the formulation somewhere along the way. Bad corporate behavior there, lacking disclosure, and they've just lost a customer for their product. 😞 So lesson here: if you consume any Thai market soft drinks and DON'T want artificial sweeteners in them, best to check the label these days, because they may not have the same formulation as what they had in the past.

Can anyone advise when (how long ago) was the last time that ANY LIVING SURVIVOR was rescued out of the SAOB pile of rubble? There were some living rescues in the immediate aftermath of the building's collapse. But as the days have passed beyond that to the now two-week point, AFAIK, there have been few, if any, recent ones. And 71 still counted as missing.

The 60 buildings structurally unsafe and closed data point above is interesting.... in that.... Just a few days ago, AFAIR, a prior report had put the number of unsafe/closed buildings in the BKK area at 30+ (I wanna say 34 from my recollection). So that number definitely has been increasing with the passage of time. If the latest 60 number is correct, that presumably means A LOT of local people are now homeless because of the EQ.... It would be nice if the Thai "news" media have some meaningful reporting on what's going on with those people and the buildings where they had lived...

Interesting to finally, after a VERY long drought of one sided-ness here, see this forum as with the OP here reporting world news reflecting BOTH realities of the war in Gaza.... and not just the blatantly Israel-only side, as has been the case for a long time. IMHO, both sides have crimes that their leaders and fighters should be held accountable for. But that doesn't and shouldn't excuse the rampant killing of innocents, by either side.

More COVID pandemic deflection from familiar right-wing characters here, such as the UK's Daily Telegraph, which has a pretty shoddy record of COVID reporting, as shown below. If the Telegraph wants to cry for people, instead of focusing on the relative few who ran afoul of COVID legal restrictions in the UK and faced resulting fines, how about shedding tears for the 230,000+ UK residents who died from COVID during the course of the pandemic. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/ Or the dozens of new COVID deaths that still occur every week in the UK even now, though those certainly are not reported in any of the COVID threads here anymore: https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/respiratory-viruses/covid-19#deaths Nope, don't want to talk about those folks, and how fewer would have died had more been vaccinated, or had more better followed public health precautions that The Telegraph routinely has ridiculed. As for the Daily Telegraph's shoddy track record of COVID reporting, one example below: ... https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/covid19-vaccines-lowered-excess-deaths-during-pandemic-contrary-headline-the-daily-telegraph/

Six-wheeled construction cranes don't "slip" off the highway where they're parked.....

US Measles Cases Rise 26% in a Week; Total Now 607 in 21 States By Damian Garde April 4, 2025 at 4:16 PM UTC The US now has 607 confirmed measles cases, a 26% jump from a week ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 124 new cases Friday in 21 states, with 97% of them in people who were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was not known. ... The measles vaccine is 93% effective in preventing infection after one dose and has prevented an estimated 60 million deaths since 2000, according to the World Health Organization. https://archive.ph/OBbyO AND ‘We are on track to have the worst measles outbreak of this century’: Dr. Jha ABC News’ Martha Raddatz interviews Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator and dean of Brown University's School of Public Health Dr. Ashish Jha on “This Week.” March 30, 2025 https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/track-worst-measles-outbreak-century-dr-jha-120311443