TallGuyJohninBKK

Trans, so are you saying they admitted him to the hospital for COVID -- not just outpatient?

You're talking about risk only on the basis of Thailand's relatively few official COVID deaths -- which past studies have shown to be undercounts to the actual levels of likely COVID deaths. And for the record, Thailand among its official COVID deaths has reported one involving a young child and another involving a 20-49-year-old just in the past month. No details about the particulars of those cases. But that assessment doesn't take into account the much larger numbers of serious COVID hospitalizations -- 588 current as of last week, and 14,937 total thus far for the year. And for that group, the Thai MoPH doesn't publicly release any age or other demographic information. So we don't really know the details of just whom COVID is making seriously ill in Thailand. I'd guess the elderly predominate there as has generally been the case elsewhere in recent times, but to what extent younger people are involved as they have been elsewhere in smaller numbers, we simply don't know.

Thailand's spring 2024 COVID surge continued for a ninth consecutive week last week, with the government reporting 1,880 new COVID hospitalizations, up 4.9% from 1,792 the prior week, and 11 new official COVID deaths, a decline of one. The Ministry of Public Health also reported the total number of current COVID hospitalizations rated in serious condition climbed to 588 from 501 the prior week, a 17.4% increase and a tally that appears to be Thailand's highest in almost a year and a half. The number of currently hospitalized COVID patients requiring intubation / ventilation to breathe also rose to 237 from 187 the prior week, up 27% and the highest number in that category since early June 2023. The Thai government does not publicly report the total numbers of all current COVID hospitalizations, but instead only breaks out the subtotals for those in serious condition and requiring intubation, and then the new COVID hospitalizations each week. With the latest update for the period May 5 - 11, Thailand's weekly new COVID hospitalizations at 1,880, averaging 269 per day, have more than tripled from the 501 weekly count recorded in mid-March when the latest COVID surge began. The latest weekly count on new COVID hospitalizations is Thailand's highest number since mid-June 2023, when the total hit 2,158. The latest tally of 11 new COVID deaths is a decline of one from the prior week, but still one of the highest weekly totals thus far for 2024. Thailand had a similar COVID surge last spring as well, when weekly COVID new hospitalizations rose from a few hundred to a peak of more than 3,000 by early June 2023 before eventually subsiding. Among the 11 new COVID deaths reported for the past week, 4 were male and 7 were female. The MoPH said 10 were ages 70 and above, while one was in the 60-69 age range. The MoPH only recently resumed publicly disclosing the broad age ranges for Thailand's reported COVID deaths, something they had ceased many months prior with the end of COVID's declared emergency status in Thailand. With the latest weekly report, Thailand since the start of 2024 has now seen 14,937 COVID hospitalizations and 104 official COVID deaths, according to the MoPH. Even while COVID hospitalizations have been spiking, Thailand's officially reported weekly COVID deaths had mostly remained in the single digits during 2024. The weekly COVID new hospitalization counts reported by the MoPH during the past nine weeks have been as follows, with the spring surge beginning well before this year's mid-April Song Kran holidays, but then climbing rapidly after they arrived: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 The MoPH's weekly COVID reports for Thailand are available at the following MoPH website: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main They also have been posted each week in the following AseanNow forum thread: https://aseannow.com/topic/1311049-weekly-thai-ministry-of-public-health-covid-reports/

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for May 5 - 11, 2024: --1,880 new COVID hospitalizations, averaging 269 per day, up 88 / 4.9% from the prior week --11 new COVID deaths, down 1 / 8% from the prior week --588 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), up 87 / 17.4% from the prior week (dark purple) --237 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, up 50 / 27% from the prior week (light purple) Cumulative figures since the start of the current year are COVID new hospitalizations (14,937) & COVID deaths (104). Of the 11 new official COVID deaths, the MoPH below is reporting that 4 were male and 7 female. By age, 10 were 70 and above, and one was age 60-69. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main Reported weekly COVID new hospitalizations have now risen for the past 9 consecutive weeks since mid-March and more than tripled over that period, as follows for the weeks ending: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 The latest weekly new COVID hospitalizations total is Thailand's highest since mid-June 2023, when the total hit 2,158. Thailand's weekly new COVID hospitalizations peaked last spring at 3,085 in early June amid a similar run-up that began in mid-April.

So let's talk about COVID vaccines and young people: Teen vaccination cut COVID-19 cases by 37% in California, new data show April 25, 2024 JAMA Network Open has published a new study showing that, from April 1, 2020, to February 27, 2023, in California, an estimated 146,210 COVID-19 cases were averted by vaccination in teens aged 12 to 15 years, representing a 37% reduction. Researchers also estimated that 230,134 cases were averted in kids aged 5 to 11 years, a 24% reduction. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/teen-vaccination-cut-covid-19-cases-37-california-new-data-show April 23, 2024 COVID-19 Vaccination and Incidence of Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Hospitalization "We provide evidence that California’s pediatric COVID-19 immunization program averted 376 085 (95% PI, 348 355-417 328) reported cases and 273 (95% PI, 77-605) hospitalizations among children aged 6 months to 15 years during the 4 to 7 months following vaccine availability. This represents a reduction of 26.3% of the number of cases that would have been seen in this population absent the vaccine." https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2817868

Per the US CDC: Myocarditis and Pericarditis after COVID-19 Vaccination Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are rare. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart. Most patients with myocarditis or pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination responded well to medicine and rest and felt better quickly, and most cases have been reported after receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. ... Data from VSD and from VAERS indicate that rates of myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination are highest among males in their late teens and early 20s, usually following the second dose of the vaccine. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

The cited study assessed the individual side effect risks from three different COVID vaccines: AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna: GBS and CVST, only cited for the AZ vaccine and both previously identified as rare risks. Myocarditis and pericarditis, both previously identified rare risks from the mRNA vaccines, along with the AZ vaccine. That's why the above FactCheck.org report on all this was titled: Study Largely Confirms Known, Rare COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects

A long time ago, when I first signed up for Spotify Premium TH, I set up the payment method to automatically debit each month from my Bangkok Bank account (can't recall if I did it via my debit card or direct to my savings account). I get an SMS message each month from BKKK when the payment is made.

It's worth noting that several of the identified increased rare risks called out in the study (GBS and CVST) were associated only with the now withdrawn AstraZeneca vaccine, and not with the mRNA vaccines. And most of those associated with the mRNA were the previously known rare risks of myocarditis and pericarditis (heart-related), where most studies have found those vaccine-related side effects to be generally mild and temporary in duration, unlike when those occur from COVID infections. Addressing the specifically identified rare side effects, Science Based Medicine reported: "Meanwhile, the chances of having a neurological event after a Covid infection were up to 617-fold higher than following COVID vaccination, which suggests “the benefits of vaccination substantially outweigh the risks,” according to the Vaccine study researchers. The risk of developing myocarditis is higher post-Covid infection than after getting a Covid vaccine, according to Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, professor of Immunobiology at Yale University. Myocarditis risk after the second dose of a Covid vaccine is 35.9 per 100,000 people, compared to a 64.9 per 100,000 risk after Covid infection. The risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome after Covid infection was six times greater, and the risk of developing it after vaccination was 0.41 times greater than the control group, according to a 2023 study published in Neurology." https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/how-antivaxxers-weaponize-vaccine-safety-studies-to-falsely-portray-vaccines-as-dangerous/

The fact checkers above are NOT "debunking" the study, which anyone who bothered to read the above reports would clearly understand. The cited study was/is a legitimate, scientifically produced credible research effort, and has been widely accepted and appreciated in the scientific/public health community. What is being "debunked" are the fraudulent attempts by anti-vaxers to misportray and misrepresent the study's actual findings (which are written in a lot of scientific jargonese) and the very rare levels of risk found.

The report below elaborates on how the side effect risks from being infected by COVID often are higher than those of the same rare side effects from the COVID vaccines: How antivaxxers weaponize vaccine safety studies to falsely portray vaccines as dangerous Antivaxxers have weaponized a huge multinational vaccine safety study of 99 million patient records that found rare adverse events and [anti-vaxers] concluded that the risks of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the benefits. How? A combination of the Nirvana fallacy and spin. https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/how-antivaxxers-weaponize-vaccine-safety-studies-to-falsely-portray-vaccines-as-dangerous/ https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/science-based-medicine/

Study Largely Confirms Known, Rare COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects FactCheck.org February 27, 2024 SciCheck Digest An international study of around 99 million people confirmed known serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccination. It also identified a possible relationship between the first dose of the Moderna vaccine and a small risk of a neurological condition. Social media posts about the study left out information on the vaccines’ benefits and the rarity of the side effects. -------------- COVID-19 vaccines — like all vaccines and other medical products — come with side effects, including serious side effects in rare cases. The vaccines were rolled out to protect people from a novel virus that has killed millions of people globally and would likely have killed millions more without the arrival of the vaccines. There is a broad consensus from experts and governmental health agencies that the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks. ... “What we take away, is that the Covid-19 vaccination campaigns have been very effective in preventing severe disease,” study co-author Anders Hviid, head of the department of epidemiology research at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, told us in an email. “The few serious side effects that we have observed in this and other studies have been rare.” (more) https://www.factcheck.org/2024/02/study-largely-confirms-known-rare-covid-19-vaccine-side-effects/

A study from back in February.... Posts misrepresent findings of world's largest Covid vaccine safety study Agence France-Presse 28 February 2024 The February 2024 publication of the largest peer-reviewed study of Covid-19 vaccine safety to date has inspired misleading social media claims that its findings show the jabs are unsafe. Study authors and independent experts say the research confirms that adverse reactions to vaccination are rare and pose far fewer risks than Covid-19 infection. ... Epidemiologist Anders Peter Hviid, one of the study authors, told AFP the findings confirm previous research and should not deter people from receiving Covid-19 shots. "What we take away is that the Covid-19 vaccination campaigns have been very effective in preventing severe disease," he said on February 23. "The few serious side effects that we have observed in this and other studies have been rare." (more) https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.34K78ZW

TRC report: 5 stories of residential school escapees who died Accounts of ill-fated escapes contained in final report of TRC December 15, 2015 The final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was released Monday and reveals in chilling detail the horrors of the residential school system. Within its over 3,700 pages are stories of children forcibly separated from their families, communities, language and culture who ended up suffering shocking rates of mental, physical and sexual abuse. Over 3,200 of those children never returned home, with many of their bodies buried in unmarked cemeteries across the country. The majority were taken by disease — tuberculosis, influenza, typhoid and other maladies. (more) https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/truth-reconciliation-commission-final-report-escapees-1.3364325

"the core facts that Indian Residential Schools were designed to forcibly remove Indigenous children from their parents and assimilate them into white society in underfunded schools awash with corporal punishment and sexual predation." So all of the above was their public advertising slogan thru the years, and the described actions were not hidden thru their many decades of operation? And forcibly removing children from their parents isn't "nefarious"? It certainly is in my book!

This 2023 report from the right-center leaning Canadian National Post news outlet gives a more nuanced recounting of the history of all this, saying that it wasn't mostly the local tribes groups who started referring to "mass graves," but instead foreign news media. At any rate, the report below ends with what it says is the continuing factual basis of all this, that many thousands of tribes children did indeed die in the former Indian Residential Schools: FIRST READING: Who started calling residential school burial sites mass graves? At least in the beginning, First Nations didn't claim there were deliberately hidden 'mass graves.' Media and activists did ... But there’s just one problem with claims that this was all an engineered hoax: The preliminary claims of First Nations performing the surveys did not state that these were “mass graves,” that they were deliberately concealed or that they were the result of homicide. At least in the beginning, the claims of “mass graves” or mass murder would stem mostly from foreign news outlets." And then to end the article: "None of the events of 2021 disturbed the core facts that Indian Residential Schools were designed to forcibly remove Indigenous children from their parents and assimilate them into white society in underfunded schools awash with corporal punishment and sexual predation. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 2015 final report found 3,201 confirmed student deaths, mostly due to disease — although the poor state of record-keeping led commissioners to conclude there was likely many more." https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/first-nations-graves

Of course, they both also claimed he won the last presidential election. So that pretty much tells everyone what they need to know about the total lack of credibility of both.

Seems like many of the forum-familiar pro-Trump / COVID denying anti-vaxers are populating this thread about Canada... Perhaps there's something to the above CBC reference: As for the credibility of the CBC, a whole lot better than the OP source: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/cbc-news-canadian-broadcasting/ https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/western-standard-bias/

Truth and Reconciliation chair says final report marks start of 'new era' Dec 15, 2015 ... The final report is a detailed account, spanning nearly 4,000 pages, of what happened to indigenous children who were physically and sexually abused in government boarding schools. Two chairs at the front of the room were left empty to symbolize the more than 3,200 indigenous children who died in residential schools — a number Sinclair estimates to be much higher. Sinclair along with commissioners chief Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson, spent the past six years hearing heartbreaking testimony from more than 6,000 residential school survivors who were abused and lived to tell their stories. (more) https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/truth-and-reconciliation-final-report-ottawa-event-1.3365921

Hard to know whom to believe, considering the report above is from a right-wing website with a poor record of accuracy, which is repeating a Canadian website article hidden behind a paywall... And we had prior reports from credible sources such as the national public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corp. saying the following: Residential school denialists tried to dig up suspected unmarked graves in Kamloops, B.C., report finds Denialism is the last step of genocide, says report from independent interlocutor Jun 16, 2023 ... Residential school deniers tried to dig up suspected unmarked grave sites at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, not believing a May 2021 announcement from the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc that as many as 215 Indigenous children had been buried there, according to a new report. ... But the unauthorized visits to the site are the work of a "core group" of Canadians who continue to deny, defend or minimize the physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse inflicted on Indigenous children in the Indian Residential School System "despite the indisputable evidence of survivors and their families," Murray said at a Friday news conference. ... Since the confirmation of community knowledge of suspected unmarked graves in Kamloops, First Nations across Canada have located evidence of the remains of more than 2,300 children in suspected unmarked graves at or near former residential schools and Indian hospitals, according to the report. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/denialists-tried-to-access-unmarked-gravesite-tkemlups-report-1.6879980

Here's the kind of thing AI fakery can do: NOTE: The video below is absolutely a FAKE! And is posted solely for the purpose of demonstrating how easily this technology can be misused and abused for malicious purposes and to spread false misinformation. Trump Deep Fake AI video.mp4 If I paid for their subscription, they'd remove the source watermark overlay on my videos.

Fire sale! 😁

Gotta love this Trump-Fox News craziness reported in USA Today: Fox News calls Trump a ‘sex god,’ RFK Jr. has a brain worm and I want off this planet ... Daniels’ descriptions of her alleged brief — ugh — affair with the man who’s now the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee prompted Fox News host and apparent misogynist Greg Gutfeld to suggest it all demonstrated Trump’s sexual prowess: “Truly, he screwed the brains out of her—that makes him a sex god.” I don’t know exactly what’s wrong with Mr. Gutfeld or how sewage entered his soul, but I do know that repulsive statement caused thousands of Americans to lose their lunch. It made me want to pilot a rocket ship into the sun, as it’s clear humanity’s time is up. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/fox-news-calls-trump-a-sex-god-rfk-jr-has-a-brain-worm-and-i-want-off-this-planet/ar-BB1maJDB Greg Gutfeld Makes Truly Vile Comments About 'Sex God' Trump And Stormy Daniels https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/greg-gutfeld-makes-truly-vile-120736638.html And more reported here: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/gutfeld-on-trump-and-stormy-daniels-he-screwed-the-brains-out-of-her-that-makes-him-a-sex-god/

By seizing condoms and lubricants??? I kinda thought those were still legal in Thailand, even in the Muslim south! The other stuff I can understand, this being Thailand. Or is this their way of finding a new market for locally produced palm oil??? 😁

The only way to know for sure about COVID is to test, either (expensive) RT-PCR type at the hospital, or (inexpensive) rapid antigen tests at home, ideally, done a couple times in succession to confirm the result. Because, with the latest variants, it seems the RAT tests tend not to always recognize the virus until the person is a couple of days into the infection (assuming there is one). Otherwise, it's just guessing. Per the U.S. CDC: "Antigen tests produce results quickly (within minutes), and most can be used at the POC or at home. Most self-tests, or at-home tests, are antigen tests. Antigen tests are better at detecting a SARS-CoV-2 infection when someone has COVID-19 symptoms compared to if they do not. Antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 are generally less sensitive than real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and other nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), which detect and amplify the presence of viral nucleic acid. ... All initial negative antigen test results should be confirmed with a NAAT or repeated with additional antigen tests following FDA’s recommendations on repeat testing." https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/lab/resources/antigen-tests-guidelines.html