TallGuyJohninBKK

Part of that above, I'd imagine, is a function of level of testing. SK is very committed to substantial testing. Thailand, on the other hand, is not. That's part of the reason why, lately, with Omicron, I tend to pay more attention to the hospitalization numbers, versus the case numbers, because I believe the hospitalization numbers are less skewed by varying levels of testing activity from country to country. It would be interesting if OWD or some similar entity could manage to compile a per capita COVID hospitalization rate by country. OWD has some of that for certain countries, but apparently not for Thailand, Hong Kong or South Korea, among others. Chart below showing since Jan 1, 2022: U.S. and UK per capita COVID hospitalizations lately trending down. Singapore and Malaysia per capita COVID hospitalizations trending up. OWD source

The Thai government has a booster shot eligibility schedule (in the form of a graphic) that spells out when people are eligible. The range is between 3 and 6 months after, depending on what one's original two shots were. If memory serves, original shots of Sinovac have shorter follow times for boosters, whereas two original shots of mRNA vaccines have the longest follow-up times. There are lots of different vaccine combinations that various people here could have received for their original shots, so there are a lot of different booster timeframes for all those combos, in the 3-6 month range.

Asia is on the upside of Omicron right now, while some western countries like the U.S. just lately seemed to have hit their peak and now are on the down-side of the wave. The news out of Hong Kong seems particularly bad. Hope that Thailand isn't headed down that same road in the weeks ahead. But the numbers here pretty much keep rising day-by-day for the time being.

The comments here from several posters saying they had no plans to get a booster shot after having their original two-shot vaccinations are particularly interesting, coming now. Because, all the medical research clearly shows that TWO shots alone are not very effective against the currently circulating Omicron variant, but a third mRNA dose significantly improves your chances of a] not getting infected, and b] should you become infected, less likelihood of serious illness. The booster also remedies the waning effectiveness over time issue with the original shots. Unlike some western countries, Thailand right now is still on the UP side of its Omicron wave, not the down side. Case counts are rising every day, and the same with hospitalized COVID cases that have almost quadrupled since the start of the year. Now would seem to be the time that common sense would dictate -- you really want to make sure you've received that third booster shot. That is what pretty much all the public health authorities are recommending, because that's what the medical/public health research shows is needed to combat Omicron. Hard to fathom that kind of "I don't want it" thinking, especially among a forum population skewed toward older and retired folks, who are the most at risk for serious/bad COVID outcomes.

Re the OP report: Bravo!!! Can't undo what's already been done. But hope they make them pay for it after the fact.

I don't know about viral loads issue of Delta vs Omicron. But I believe you're correct in your comment above explaining about how the two different variants tend to cause problems in differing parts of the body, and why Omicron cases (in general, comparatively) tend to be milder. Although the much higher rate of Omicron infection (because many more people get it) still ends up sending as many or more people to the hospital in many places.

"The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is setting up more beds in isolation facilities to handle the rising number of Covid-19 cases. During an inspection at an isolation center in Klong Toey district on Wednesday, Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang announced that about 1,000 beds have been added to the 13 community isolation centers currently in operation throughout the capital. Additional Isolation facilities are also currently being set up as the number of patients in Bangkok has risen since the beginning of the year. These centers will help treat patients with less severe conditions which reduces cases at hospitals and ease pressure on the overall health system. ... People who test positive for Covid-19 should contact the BMA via the NHSO hotline number at 1330 ext. 14, the Erawan Medical Center's hotline number at 1669 ext. 2, or the EOC emergency hotline numbers for evaluation and immediate treatment." https://www.facebook.com/nbtworld/posts/10158509229282050

Thailand 2022 COVID hospitalizations (regular hospitals): Jan 4 -- 17,280 Feb. 1 -- 40,590 (Past Week) Feb 11 -- 55,058 Feb 12 -- 56,099 Feb 13 –- 58,245 Feb 14 –- 60,558 Feb 15 –- 60,303 Feb 16 -- 62,752 Feb 17 –- 64,919 (nearly quadruple since the start of the year) Thailand 2022 COVID patients in serious/critical condition: Jan 4 -- 555 Feb 1 -- 557 (past week) Feb 11 -- 569 Feb 12 -- 610 Feb 13 -- 641 Feb 14 –- 687 Feb 15 -- 702 Feb 16 -- 699 Feb 17 -- 728 Source: MoPH daily COVID reports, including the latest below, with the hospitalization and patient condition statistics in the blue colored section. https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106455480972785/505572571061072/?type=3 Also, more broadly as shown in the blue box, Thailand currently has 144,061 COVID positive cases in care, including the 64,919 in regular hospitals, and another 79,142 in various alternate arrangements including "hospitels," field hospitals, etc.

Regarding the extremely rare myocarditis issue with vaccines, others have already addressed your comment above, including that the risks of COVID are greater than those side effect risks from the vaccine. And now there's evidence that even the original vaccine risk claims, after further investigation, actually have been overblown: Feb 04, 2022 "Today during a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)... The meeting included new discussion of myocarditis risks in recipients of mRNA vaccines. The CDC's Tom Shimabukuro, MD, MPH, shared that there have been 13 deaths following mRNA vaccination from myocarditis in the United States, but upon investigation, none have been deemed to be caused by vaccination. Most myocarditis cases following mRNA vaccine were fully resolved within 90 days of diagnosis, with patients saying the condition had no impact on their quality of life, and most cases were classified as mild according to clinicians." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/02/acip-fully-recommends-spikevax-cdc-expands-wastewater-surveillance Just because something A happens after you've done something B, doesn't mean that B was the automatically cause of it. And in these cases, they determined it wasn't.

Virginia Giuffre claims Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her at Jeffrey Epstein's home at 17. ... "Andrew reached a settlement with Giuffre on Tuesday, according to court documents obtained by Insider. The prince intends to make a "substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre's charity in support of victims' right," the sum of which was not disclosed, according to a joint statement made in the court filing. The statement added: "Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre's character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks. It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years." https://www.insider.com/virginia-roberts-sexual-assault-claims-prince-andrew-timeline-2021-8#february-2022-andrew-reached-an-out-of-court-settlement-with-giuffre-16

"In the Miami Herald's award-winning[25] investigative journalism series "Perversion of Justice", Giuffre describes her experiences of being trafficked by Epstein to provide massages and sexual services for him and a number of his business associates over a two-and-a-half-year period.[26] In her interview with the BBC, Giuffre said she was "passed around like a platter of fruit" to Epstein's powerful associates, and taken round the world on private jets.[17] "Of the instance in March[11] 2001 that Giuffre was allegedly trafficked to Prince Andrew, she stated in an interview that it was a "wicked" and "really scary time" in her life and that she "couldn't comprehend how in the highest level of the government powerful people were allowing this to happen. Not just allowing but participating in it".[27] After visiting a nightclub, Giuffre says Maxwell told her that she, "had to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Giuffre#:~:text=Virginia Louise Giuffre (née Roberts%3B born August 9%2C,non-profit based in the United States%2C in 2015.

Your article above: Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement ... “We know how to slow the spread of this virus: get vaccinated, get boosted, get tested if you have symptoms or have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, and stay away from others if you test positive. Wear a mask indoors, avoid poorly ventilated spaces, practice social distancing, and wash your hands.”

The virus has changed, several times over. So responses to it have needed to change as well. Nothing remarkable or unexpected about that.

The first Omicron case in that report was someone who had received two basic vaccine doses, but had not received a booster dose. And, as science and medicine has been telling the world for months now, a third booster dose is required to be effective against Omicron. Two doses alone, while effective against the prior variants, aren't very effective in preventing Omicron. Takeaway - get that third mRNA booster shot.

Well reasoned and well put!

Obviously, this guy was unable to Get Smart.... ????

You've posted a link to a report from back in October 2020, before the advent of the Delta variant and the current Omicron variant, which is far more transmissible than any of its predecessors. And you either didn't read, or chose to ignore, one of the cautions in even the old, out-of-date info you posted: "The study, which was released without peer review, did not take into account other ways that people could catch the virus on aircraft -- including from others coughing or breathing directly on them, from surfaces or from confined spaces such as restrooms." The HEPA air filtration systems on airplanes do little to nothing to protect you from an infected person who may be sitting next to you or in other close proximity.

Update for Thailand: COVID hospitalizations (real hospitalizations, not hospitels) have more than tripled since the start of the year, and are steadily rising. Thailand 2022 COVID hospitalizations (regular hospitals): Jan 4 -- 17,280 Feb. 1 -- 40,590 (Past Week) Feb 11 -- 55,058 Feb 12 -- 56,099 Feb 13 –- 58,245 Feb 14 –- 60,558 Feb 15 –- 60,303 Feb 16 -- 62,752 Thailand 2022 COVID patients in serious/critical condition: Jan 4 -- 555 Feb 1 -- 557 (past week) Feb 11 -- 569 Feb 12 -- 610 Feb 13 -- 641 Feb 14 –- 687 Feb 15 -- 702 Feb 16 -- 699 Source: Thai MoPH daily COVID reports, latest below, with hospitalization data in the blue shaded section: https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/504904401127889

Those numbers were just a single day's stats that the authors of the article included in their report. That was NOT what the OP report and its findings were based on. If you read the actual article, you'll find the supporting detail: "Based on local studies between July and December 2021, the health ministry said that two doses of a Covid vaccine can prevent transmission by 65 per cent and decrease hospitalisation or death by 88 per cent. Three doses can prevent transmission by 94 per cent and decrease hospitalisation or death by 98 per cent." Though it's worth noting, the time period that they're covering in that study (July to Dec. 2021) was mostly the Delta period for Thailand, so the later, comparable numbers for the current Omicron wave probably would be somewhat lower.

Yep, that's possible... Obviously, it depends on the details of how all the different factors interact... Daily withdrawal limit on the card being used, per withdrawal limit of the ATM being used, per withdrawal fee of the Thai ATM being used. In general, though, it's going to be easier to minimize your cost in fees here in TH for using a foreign card if that card has a higher daily withdrawal limit. And the $1,000 per day cards like Schwab's work nicely with the max 30,000 baht per withdrawal ATM machines operated by Krungsri and TMB. From memory, I wanna say AEON's ATMs will dispense a max of 20K per withdrawal, with their 150b fee for foreign cards. So if you were using a U.S. card that has a $500 per day withdrawal limit (about 16,000 baht), then that would makes sense. But, a person would be paying a lower share of fee if instead they were using a $1,000 per day card, in a 30,000 baht per withdrawal ATM, and its standard 220 baht fee.

For Americans, using one of the relatively few U.S. financial institution debit cards like Schwab that both A: charge no foreign currency fee, and B: reimburse the Thai banks' 220b fee on foreign card use is one of the BEST, most economical ways to get cash in Thailand. AEON, however, is not so great, depending on how much money you want with withdraw. Yes, last time I checked long ago, they had a somewhat lower foreign card fee. But they also had a much lower maximum amount per withdrawal limit, compared to the 30K per withdrawal (and fee) that you can get from Krungsri and TMB ATMs.

Really? Johns Hopkins Feb. 15 COVID update: "Several nations and regions in Asia have experienced increases in new COVID-19 cases following Lunar New Year celebrations held early this month, with governments grappling with how to respond to the Omicron variant that has found its way through strict border controls. Hong Kong is experiencing a record surge in cases, reporting more than 2,000 new cases on February 14. The outbreak is overwhelming hospitals, forcing schools to remain closed, and necessitating help from China to address what Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam called an “aggravating situation.” ... China is continuing to enforce its zero-COVID policy, shutting down entire cities and holding the Beijing Winter Olympics in a strict “closed-loop” bubble that some have criticized as excessive. A paper published last week in the weekly bulletin of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) estimated that if the global vaccination rate was 95% and population mobility returned to 2019 levels, zero-COVID regions would see more than 234 million new cases in 1 year, including 2 million deaths." https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/resources/COVID-19/COVID-19-SituationReports.html

Thailand 2022 COVID hospitalizations (regular hospitals): Jan 4 -- 17,280 Feb. 1 -- 40,590 (past week) Feb 10 -- 51,435 Feb 11 -- 55,058 Feb 12 -- 56,099 Feb 13 –- 58,245 Feb 14 –- 60,558 Feb 15 –- 60,303 Feb 16 -- 62,752 Thailand 2022 COVID patients in serious/critical condition: Jan 4 -- 555 Feb 1 -- 557 (past week) Feb 10 -- 563 Feb 11 -- 569 Feb 12 -- 610 Feb 13 -- 641 Feb 14 –- 687 Feb 15 -- 702 Feb 16 -- 699 https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106455480972785/504904401127889/?type=3

Thailand 2022 COVID hospitalizations (regular hospitals): Jan 4 -- 17,280 Feb. 1 -- 40,590 Feb 10 -- 51,435 Feb 11 -- 55,058 Feb 12 -- 56,099 Feb 13 – 58,245 Feb 14 – 60,558 Feb 15 – 60,303 Thailand 2022 COVID patients in serious/critical condition: Jan 4 -- 555 Feb 1 -- 557 Feb 10 -- 563 Feb 11 -- 569 Feb 12 -- 610 Feb 13 -- 641 Feb 14 – 687 Feb 15 -- 702

Nice to see that what scientists have been telling the public for months now is borne out by that study -- that to be well protected against Omicron, people need to have that third dose of an mRNA booster like Pfizer or Moderna. Vaccine effectiveness in preventing symptomatic Omicron infection after two AZ doses and a Pfizer booster - 71.4% Vaccine effectiveness in preventing symptomatic Omicron infection after two Pfizer doses and a Pfizer booster -- 75.5% "Among those who received ChAdOx1 as the primary course, from 2 weeks after a BNT162b2 booster dose, vaccine effectiveness increased to 71.4% (95%CI: 41.8 to 86.0%). Vaccine effectiveness increased to 75.5% (95%CI: 56.1 to 86.3%) after the booster among those who had received BNT162b2 as the primary course." Anybody who's even remotely been paying attention in recent months would be well aware that the medical experts and scientists have clearly been advising that TWO shots alone of COVID vaccination is not enough to effectively prevent Omicron, and that a third booster dose is required. And the chart above shows the value of that advice!