TallGuyJohninBKK

If you mean the Red Line, a couple of reasons based on past experience: 1. the logistics for me aren't very good, with a long ride on the Blue line subway, then a long walk from its Bang Sue station to the Red Line's Bang Sue station, and then moreso, last time I tried, about 30 minute headways between Red Line trains, meaning I was sitting there wasting a lot of time. and 2. When I finally got off the Red Line at Laksi last time I tried, there were zero car taxis anywhere to be seen when I came down out of the Laksi station into the IT mall area heading toward BKK CW. Last week, I left home at 7 am, went the BTS to Mochit and then tollway taxi to BKK CW route, and walked in the door at Immigration at 7:55 am.

FWIW, I had to go to BKK CW last week in order to get my stamps transferred to a newly issued passport. As part of that process, much to my surprise, the IO there required me to do TWO things that normally are only required for new extensions -- provide photocopies of my bank passbook pages covering the past year, and update my bank passbook that day to show the current balance. I don't think they ever required that bank stuff last time I got a new passport 10 years ago. But last week, at BKK CW, I checked with a supervisor, and she confirmed that the bank book update and bank passbook photocopies now are going to be standard requirements anytime any of us with extensions based on Thai bank deposits are doing ANY business with the L section there.... (and that includes merely having stamps transferred to a new passport). PS - In my visit last week, I had TWO bank passbooks, a full one that ended a few months back, and a new one covering the past couple months. And the IO who handled my stuff wasn't troubled by the notion of my having two bank passbooks for the same account, each covering a part of the year. Nor did they require a bank issued 12 month statement, and were fine with my photocopies of the pages from both books.

BKK CW seems to run hot and cold on the issue of providing a copy of one's TM30 form as part of retirement extension renewals paperwork. Two years ago, to my surprise, they wanted a copy of mine, which fortunately I had. One year ago, they didn't ask and didn't care. Wonder what they'll say when I go back again there later this week for my annual visit.

For retirement extensions at BKK CW... for those applying on the basis of Thai bank deposits, USUALLY, BKK CW will be satisfied by inspecting your bank passbook AND you providing them with signed photocopies of your passbook covering the past 12 month period prior to your application -- which shows you met their 400K and 800K balance requirements. They DO NOT usually require a formal 12-month statement issed by the bank... as long as you have the bank-issued letter certifying the current balance of your account.

There's a lot about so-called Long COVID symptoms that the public health and medical experts are still trying to assess and understand... From what I've read, it's not uncommon for various Long COVID symptoms, including shortness of breath, to continue up to 2 years in some cases post-infection, and less in others. My general sense from what I've read is that people whose original COVID infections were more severe are more likely to have longer lasting or even permanent impacts, whereas those with mild or asymptomatic original infections are less likely to have permanent impairments. Sounds like something you'd want to consult with a pulmonologist (lung specialist) about....

Here's a new report that puts the world's COVID failures in better perspective, and calls out where the blame lies, and Bill Gates-related groups aren't at the top of their list -- though the WHO comes in for a major shellacking for being too timid and too slow to meaningfully respond. Anti-maskers and anti-vaccine folks in the general public also are blamed: Lancet Commission on COVID-19 response: 'Massive global failure' "Noting an estimated 17.2 million COVID-19 deaths worldwide through May 31, the commission said, "This staggering death toll is both a profound tragedy and a massive global failure at multiple levels. Too many governments have failed to adhere to basic norms of institutional rationality and transparency, too many people—often influenced by misinformation—have disrespected and protested against basic public health precautions, and the world's major powers have failed to collaborate to control the pandemic." https://aseannow.com/topic/1272054-lancet-commission-on-covid-19-response-massive-global-failure/

Yes, as this report found, the nonprofit groups cited failed to meet their ambitious goals of getting sufficient COVID vaccines and tests distributed to third-world countries... And then the article goes on to explain why: "The leaders of the groups say that they were unable to meet their goals largely because wealthy, Western governments were slow to step up and make available the huge tranches of vaccine and therapeutics that were needed to protect the world." And further, the article quoted Gates Foundation CEO Mark Susman as saying: “In some areas we saw successes. On the most critical issue of equitable vaccine access, the world as a whole failed as high-income countries initially monopolized available supply.” That's not something that the non-profits can chiefly be blamed for. Rightly or wrongly, various countries with access to COVID vaccines in the early going were prioritizing access for their own citizens over access for people in other countries.

I think that info regarding mandatory proof of ATK tests was required at some prior period of time, but no longer is. As I posted above, they now have just the questionnaire that everyone entering the building is required to fill out... asking various things such as... recent travel abroad, recent COVID symptoms, recently having been around COVID cases, etc etc... I answered no to all of those, and was allowed to enter the building without being required to present any proof of an ATK test or having to do an ATK test... Now, the question I don't know the answer to is, what would have happened if I had answered YES to any of the various questions on their questionnaire. If I had, perhaps (though I don't know for certain), they might have required something else. PS - I can't remember off-hand whether they had a temperature scanning machine set up at the entrance or not....

Just a side note on this re COVID vaccinations in TH... I had a COVID booster shot the other day at a private hospital in BKK, and of course they wanted to see my passport, which now is a NEW one vs. the prior 10-year one that was linked to all my prior COVID vaccinations in TH via the MoPH. So at the hospital, I explained to them that I now had a new passport number different than my prior record with the hospital and MoPH... And so they ended up updating my vaccination record in the MoPH database, so now all of my current and prior vaccination history is now associated with my new passport number.

I think the article is confusing on that point, since it references several different types of vaccines once you go past the brief excerpt posted here in the thread and read the full remainder of the article. In the full article, the main vaccine they're talking about for 2024 seems to be the following: "The development of mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 by Chulalongkorn University would enter the third stage of its clinical trial next year. It will precede registration with the Food and Drug Administration and then the vaccine’s use for people. The registration was expected in 2024, Ms Traisuree said."

Study finds Omicron hospital risk 10 times higher in unvaccinated vs. boosted After the emergence of the Omicron variant, the rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States was 10.5 times higher in unvaccinated adults and 2.5 times higher in those who were vaccinated but received no booster than in booster recipients, according to a new study. ... In the first study, a team led by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers analyzed data on 192,509 hospitalizations from more than 250 hospitals in 13 states participating in the COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network from Jan 1, 2021, to Apr 30, 2022. The research was published [Sept. 8] in JAMA Internal Medicine. Monthly COVID-19 hospitalization rates were 3.5 to 17.7 times higher in unvaccinated patients than in their vaccinated counterparts, regardless of whether they had received a booster. Hospitalization rates were 10.5 times higher in the unvaccinated and 2.5 times higher in vaccinated patients with no booster than in booster recipients. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2022/09/study-finds-omicron-hospital-risk-10-times-higher-unvaccinated Also, source study: COVID-19-Associated Hospitalizations Among Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Adults 18 Years or Older in 13 US States, January 2021 to April 2022 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2796235 "Findings In this cross-sectional study of US adults hospitalized with COVID-19 during January 2022 to April 2022 (during Omicron variant predominance), COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates were 10.5 times higher in unvaccinated persons and 2.5 times higher in vaccinated persons with no booster dose, respectively, compared with those who had received a booster dose. Compared with unvaccinated hospitalized persons, vaccinated hospitalized persons were more likely to be older and have more underlying medical conditions. Meaning The study results suggest that COVID-19 vaccines are strongly associated with prevention of serious COVID-19 illness."

Anyone been out or around BKK CW Immigration in the past couple days? Any info if there's any impact there, either on their operations or access to the area, from the flooding that's apparently occurring in the Laksi area?