TallGuyJohninBKK

I don't believe there's any or much credible evidence that prior COVID infections will result in "long term" immunity, depending on how one defines the term "long term." The COVID virus keeps mutating, and as it does, the protections from past infections both diminish with passing time and diminish as the newer variants diverge more from the ones a person may have been infected with in the past. One of the largest reviews of the issue found that newer Omicron variants do a better job of evading immunity from prior infections, with the protection rate being only 36.1% for Omicron BA.1 at 40 weeks. "They found previous infection was highly protective against reinfection with alpha, beta and delta variants, but less so against omicron BA.1. A previous infection provided moderate protection from reinfection with omicron BA.1 (45 percent), compared with stronger protection against pre-omicron variants (82 percent). "Data from long-term studies showed that protection against reinfection for pre-omicron variants dropped to 78.6 percent over 40 weeks, whereas for omicron BA.1 it dropped more rapidly to 36.1 percent." https://www.sciencealert.com/largest-study-of-its-kind-shows-how-long-immunity-really-lasts-after-covid-infection It's not like a past COVID infection is some kind of permanent get out of COVID jail card.

Yes, she overstated the research that was known at that time, which later changed as the virus and science's understanding about it both evolved with time. Also, what she had said in the interview back in early 2021 was quickly corrected/clarified by her own agency. From the article you quoted: "Dr. Walensky spoke broadly during this interview,” a CDC spokesperson told the Times. “It’s possible that some people who are fully vaccinated could get Covid-19. The evidence isn’t clear whether they can spread the virus to others. We are continuing to evaluate the evidence.” None of that from early 2021 changes the reasons people then and now should keep current with their COVID vaccinations as recommended by public health agencies -- to reduce their risk of becoming infected, and even moreso, to even more substantially reduce their chances of becoming seriously ill or dying from COVID.

The difference is, the unvaccinated folks, overall, get sick and die from COVID at much greater rates than do the vaccinated, as numerous studies have documented, even during the recent Omicron period. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#rates-by-vaccine-status The CDC found that in March 2023, adults who had been vaccinated with the newer bivalent vaccines had a 5.3 times lower risk of dying from COVID than the unvaccinated.

COVID vaccines substantially REDUCE the risk of getting seriously ill or dying from COVID compared to being unvaccinated. If you haven't seen info regarding that, then you haven't been paying attention. From the U.S. CDC as of a week ago: "The VISION Network* assessed VE [vaccine effectiveness] against COVID-19–associated hospitalizations by time since bivalent vaccine receipt during September 13, 2022–April 21, 2023, among adults aged ≥18 years with and without immunocompromising conditions. During the first 7–59 days after vaccination, compared with no vaccination, VE for receipt of a bivalent vaccine dose among adults aged ≥18 years was 62% (95% CI = 57%–67%) among adults without immunocompromising conditions." "Among adults without immunocompromising conditions, VE [against COVID hospitalization] declined to 24% (95% CI = 12%–33%) among those aged ≥18 years by 120–179 days after vaccination." "VE against critical illness was 69% during the 7–59 days after receipt of a bivalent dose and was more sustained (50% at 120–179 days after bivalent vaccination) than VE against hospitalization." https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7221a3.htm

As I said, the UK plans to continue offering COVID vaccines to those in the higher risk groups on a seasonal basis. Per your quoted document above: "Should a person move into an at-risk group, the offer of a first or second dose will re-open with the seasonal booster programmes." And elsewhere from the NHS: "After 30 June 2023 If you are eligible for a spring vaccination, or if you haven’t had your 1st or 2nd dose, the last date you will be able to get vaccinated is 30 June. After this date, you will only be eligible for a 1st or 2nd dose if you are at increased risk from COVID-19 and in most cases, you will have to wait until the autumn to get these vaccinations. If you develop a new health condition or start treatment that severely weakens your immune system, an exception may be made if your clinician advises you to get vaccinated sooner." https://www.england.nhs.uk/who-is-at-increased-risk-from-covid-19/ The UK isn't getting out of the COVID vaccines venture, just scaling it back.

I'm not a Brit. But from everything I've read, COVID vaccines are likely to continue being offered by the government in the UK to those in the older age groups who are most at risk... such as... the ages of a lot of the retired posters here.

The bivalent vaccines are (and have been available for some time) at multiple locations around BKK, and supposedly at select locations in other provinces.

yes... all of my recent past online submissions to BKK CW were typically having a 3 business day turnaround time.

Ya, except for the dead and hospitalized folks still being done in by COVID.... Their lives are hardly returning to normal. The latest MoPH weekly update says Thailand is currently averaging 424 new COVID hospitalizations per day.

Yes, that many people here continue to ignore commonsense COVID precautions at a time when new weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand just hit another new high for 2023.

Thanks much for the above answers to my question! ????

If I recall right, Thailand seems to have gotten most or all of its stock of bivalent COVID vaccines via donations from South Korea and France.... I don't believe I've seen anything indicating Thailand has, on its own, used its own money to buy stocks of the bivalent vaccines. Which is probably one reason why they're continuing to use/offer the older monovalent vaccine versions alongside the bivalent ones.

The same vaccines predominantly being used in the U.S. right now are also the same ones being used in Thailand -- the bivalent versions of the Pfizer and Moderna vaxes. The one difference is... the U.S. lately entirely ceased using the original monovalent versions of the COVID vaccines. Whereas Thailand is continuing to use/offer them, along with the new bivalent versions.

Thanks Ryan... Sorry to hear that re the inlaws.... And yet, many posters here continue to complain and protest when the issue of COVID vaccinations and/or protection measures for young people like mask wearing in schools are raised. Your family's situation may be a good illustration of how individuals' behavior not only affects what happens with them, but may also affect what happens with those around them. COVID isn't just a "me me me" disease. I can do whatever I want without consequence to those around me.

also reduce the risk of serious illness or death... Not 100%, but at pretty good rates for the most serious COVID outcomes.

New weekly COVID hospitalizations in Thailand have risen for eight of the past nine weeks dating back to the beginning of April, and now are at their highest weekly level of 2023.

Ryan, if you know... --Is your inlaw being treated at a government or private hospital in the BKK area? --and, how difficult (or easy) was it to find a place for him to be admitted as a COVID inpatient?

Here's the comparable prior week's chart for May 14-20 of new COVID hospitalizations by province, via Google Translate: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=province

I had it and did it for that week. Let me try to find the image file for the prior week.

Here is the MoPH's breakdown of new COVID hospitalizations by province for the period May 21-27, via Google Translate: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=province

The current vaccines REDUCE the risk of you contracting the COVID virus, especially in the months immediately post injection. And, longer term, also significantly reduce the risk of either getting seriously ill or dying from COVID, compared to those who have been unvaccinated.

The bivalent vaccines are pretty readily available in Bangkok right now...and in some places in other provinces:

The Omicron strains targeted in the current bivalent vaccines are already NOT the ones currently circulating around the world, which predominantly now are the XBB variants. I believe, the plan among the various major governments and vaccine manufacturers is to have an updated XBB variant focused vaccine deployed in the coming year as a once-a-year shot.

More details here: