TallGuyJohninBKK

Research examines which children were most severely sickened by COVID-19 and finds vaccinations were significantly protective Oct. 7, 2022 ANAHEIM, CA-Children with a pre-existing illness were at highest risk of severe illness or death due to a COVID-19 infection, but those who were vaccinated had a significantly higher level of protection, according to research presented during the 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition. The abstract, “Identifying Risk Factors for Severe Clinical Outcomes in Pediatric COVID-19 Patients In a National Electronic Health Record Repository,” examined the effect of vaccination, clinical and demographic factors on severe outcomes in children with COVID-19¬ from March 12, 2020, through January 20, 2022. ... The research found that, across all age groups, presence of pre-existing illness and residence in the Census-defined South region were most often associated with severe outcomes (including hospitalization, ICU admission, use of inpatient respiratory support, and death). In eligible age groups, vaccination was significantly associated with less severe outcomes. Infants had more severe illness than older children, the author found." (more) https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/966487 Also: "Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas analyzed the electronic health records of US COVID-19 patients aged 0 to 18 years from Mar 12, 2020, to Jan 20, 2022. Of 218,759 pediatric COVID-19 patients, 8,717 (4.0%) were hospitalized, admitted to an intensive care unit, needed ventilation, or died. The strongest risk factor for a severe outcome was a preexisting illness (odds ratios [ORs], 2.27, 4.21, and 5.33 for ages 0 to 2, 3 to 10, and 11 to 18 years, respectively). The OR of severe disease among recipients of at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose relative to no vaccination was 0.55 in the vaccine-eligible group, indicating 45% effectiveness." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/10/news-scan-oct-07-2022

From the above cited MedPage article: "The agency must redact confidential business and trade secret information from Pfizer and BioNTech, as well as any private information on patients in the clinical trial. In its proposal for a 55-year timeline, the FDA noted that the branch that would handle the request has only 10 employees, and is currently processing around 400 other FOIA requests." AND "Zach Zalewski, PhD, JD, a regulatory strategy consultant at Avalere Health, said that many of the documents that will be released were submitted to the FDA up through the vaccine's emergency use authorization and full approval, and may not be material to an overall analysis of the vaccine's safety and efficacy. The FDA already published a drug approval package for Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, which consists of summaries of the FDA-reviewed data." Perhaps Republicans in Congress might want to think about putting up some additional funding and staff positions so the FDA can timely meet the demands that it's facing in a time of COVID.

No, it wasn't the CDC and it wasn't the Supreme Court. https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/97544 FDA Begins Releasing Pfizer COVID Vax Documents Court-ordered release runs risk of "cherry picking and taking things out of context" March 7, 2022 "The FDA turned over thousands of documents related to its review of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine last week, marking the first of several releases mandated by a court in Texas earlier this year. The agency released 55,000 pages of COVID-19 vaccine review documents last Tuesday, following a loss in court months earlier that forced it to expedite its process to make the information available to the public. In a January court order, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas required the FDA to release around 12,000 documents immediately, and then 55,000 pages a month until all documents are released -- totaling more than 300,000 pages." https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/97544

The U.S. CDC says, officially, that nearly 1,500 U.S. youngsters (age 0-18) have died from COVID during the pandemic.... 1,484 to use their exact number. I'm guessing their parents and others would very much have wished they weren't among the victims of COVID.... Provisional COVID-19 deaths by age group, by sex https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Deaths-by-Sex-Ages-0-18-years/xa4b-4pzv

Less than 50 payments made for adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines September 18, 2022 ... Government Services Minister Bill Shorten seized upon the figures to criticise “fringe operators who spread misinformation” about COVID vaccines. As of September 7, Services Australia had paid just 46 claims under the vaccine claims scheme. This represents just 1.6 per cent of the 2833 claims received, or 0.00007 per cent of the vaccines administered in Australia. (more) https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/less-than-50-payments-made-for-adverse-reactions-to-covid-19-vaccines-20220915-p5bigu.html

And the other detail you could have added more clearly are the listed ages of the various supposed bar girls listed on the police chart: 16, 15, 14, 15, 15, 15, 15, 12

I've lived in Thailand a long time... I thought the above WAS an "English Breakfast"! ???? Especially the reconstituted ham part.... Mmmmmm.......

An update from the U.S. FDA regarding issues for Evusheld's lessened effectiveness against a newer, emerging COVID variant: October 04, 2022 FDA: Evusheld may lack efficacy against upcoming COVID-19 subvariants Evusheld demonstrates reduced protection against the omicron subvariant BA.4.6, resulting in an increased risk for infection in those exposed to that COVID-19 strain, according to an updated FDA fact sheet. ... Specifically, the fact sheet references the omicron subvariant BA.4.6, which, according to the FDA, has shown greater than 1,000-fold reduction in susceptibility to tixagevimab/cilgavimab, which is authorized for emergency use for pre-exposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 ... “Use of Evusheld is not a substitute for COVID-19 vaccination, and individuals for whom COVID-19 vaccination is recommended should get vaccinated,” the FDA statement said." https://www.healio.com/news/rheumatology/20221004/fda-evusheld-may-lack-efficacy-against-upcoming-covid19-subvariants

So what the article here is telling us is... This guy got into the Thai police force as an ongoing drug (yaba) user, and then proceeded thru years of employment and numerous misdeeds (which were well-known by his fellow officers), and nothing much was done about him for years by the RTP as he continued to spiral out of control, and until this week when he finally entirely went berserk in a mass killing massacre. Bravo! "Panya became a policeman inn Yannawa, Bangkok, in November 2012" "He was a drug addict since high school, boasted of having 100 yaba pills, threatened people with guns and refused to do his job."

The policy on mask wearing on public transportation and in cinemas was announced at a MoPH press conference, and reported in the Bangkok Post and others news media outlets. Masks rule to stay for public transport https://www.thephuketnews.com/masks-rule-to-stay-for-public-transport-85721.php?PDPA_accept=1

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid19-vaccine-what-parents-need-to-know Should I consider getting my child vaccinated for COVID-19? "Yes. Experts, including those at Johns Hopkins, believe that there are many benefits: The vaccine helps prevent kids from getting COVID-19: Although COVID-19 in children is sometimes milder than in adults, some kids infected with the coronavirus can get severe lung infections, become very sick and require hospitalization. This is especially important to remember in light of variants, which can be very contagious. “The current vaccines are still effective in preventing severe illness from current variants of the virus,” Sick-Samuels notes. Children can also have complications such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children that may require intensive care or long-lasting symptoms that affect their health and well-being... The vaccine helps prevent or reduce the spread of COVID-19: Like adults, children also can transmit the coronavirus to others if they’re infected, even when they have no symptoms." AND https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/covid-19-vaccines-for-kids/art-20513332 "Can children who get COVID-19 experience long-term effects? Anyone who has had COVID-19 can develop a post-COVID-19 condition. Research suggests that children with both mild and severe COVID-19 have experienced long-term symptoms. The most common symptoms in children include: Tiredness or fatigue Headache Trouble sleeping Trouble concentrating Muscle and joint pain Cough"

fyi... American Academy of Pediatrics Applauds CDC Approval of Safe, Effective COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Ages 6 Months and Older "The AAP recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all children and adolescents 6 months of age and older who do not have contraindications using a vaccine authorized for use for their age." "The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults." https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2022/american-academy-of-pediatrics-applauds-cdc-approval-of-safe-effective-covid-19-vaccines-for-children-ages-6-months-and-older/

No... the graphic I posted above re MoPH general face mask recommendations predated the MoPH's announcement at the beginning of October relating to face mask wear on public transportation and in cinemas... But, their PRIOR recommendations as listed in the graphic still remain in effect today... Their subsequent announcement relating to face mask wear on public transportation and in cinemas is a separate matter.

Who gave you the authority/prerogative or expertise to judge what personal health protection measures are necessary for the majority of the population of Thailand?

I believe the Thai government's current policy of timing for follow-up with Pfizer or Moderna booster shots is to wait 4 months after your prior shot.

Even though the COVID emergency decree was allowed to lapse, the news of the past few days makes it abundantly clear that masking "recommendations" remain a key part of the MoPH's COVID game plan. It may not be a law anymore, but they're also still recommending the public at large to wear face masks when indoors in crowded spaces and/or those with poor ventilation... As well as mask wearing in general for those at high risk from COVID, including the elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic diseases/low immunity.

From the above news report: "people testing positive for COVID-19 who do not exhibit symptoms will need to practice precautionary measures that include social distancing, masking, and hand hygiene for 5 days." AND for people with symptoms: "If they need to leave home, they should double mask, maintain a safe distance from others, and frequently sanitize their hands." I don't recall seeing the MoPH specifically recommend DOUBLE masking before.... ????

Right now, Thailand is still using the original versions of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines... and there are still a lot of Thais (and clearly some farangs too) who haven't been fully vaccinated against the prior variants yet. The newer 2nd gen versions of Pfizer and Moderna are supposed to become available here sometime into next year. The government supposedly has put in their orders.... I'm guessing they'll continue using the original versions until the new versions arrive. But like with the original vaccine rollout, the new vaccines (in this case the 2nd gen ones) only end up showing up here some months after they become available in more prominent places like the U.S. and U.K.

AND

In the vein of this thread, given the ongoing rains, the coming floods and the PM's new advocacy of people to rely on transistor radios........ Wondering if anyone can recommend a particular model and purchasing source for a SIMPLE, LOW COST, PORTABLE all-in-one solar kit that could be used just for small things in an emergency involving a power disruption.... Like keeping cell phones charged, recharging emergency lanterns, powering regular NICAD or NiMH battery chargers for regular rechargeable batteries that can be used in a variety of household things, etc etc... Not like powering TVs, computers, appliances or more heavy duty stuff like that. PS - regarding one of the prior posts above and a model listed there, I'm hoping I can do something simple that isn't going to cost $1,000+ USD. Any thoughts?

dunno about that. The BA5 variants is still the predominant one right now in Thailand, AFAIK. And that's one of the ones the updated Pfizer vaccine from the U.S. (bivalent) is tuned for.... but admittedly, hard to know exactly what variant(s) are likely to be predominant 5-6 months from now.

The government recently said.... sometime in early-ish 2023.

Somehow, there's a certain major irony to the fact that CW -- one of the national government's biggest physical presences in Bangkok -- ends up getting among the area's worst flooding. I understand, the national government can't manage to keep the ordinary citizens from getting flooded out. But now it seems, they can't even manage to prevent themselves from getting flooded out!

There is this BOT website.... but it's lacking in that it only covers each bank's basic savings account rate and their standard fixed account rates for various terms. It doesn't list the various specials and promotions that the various banks offer along the way... So you get the basic standard rates, but not the especially better ones. https://www.bot.or.th/english/statistics/financialmarkets/interestrate/_layouts/application/interest_rate/IN_Rate.aspx

Dont think so... it's straight from the govt, in English to boot.... https://aseannow.com/topic/1273523-face-masks-still-mandatory-on-public-transport-cinemas-in-thailand/?do=findComment&comment=17642376