TallGuyJohninBKK

These days in Alexa, you can tell it to play Spotify music on a specific named Echo device in your voice request. Or, in the Alexa app, you can set up named groups of multiple Alexa devices, and direct the music to play on all the Alexa devices in that group (such as whole house, or whatever you've set up in terms of groupings).

My Alexa account is in the U.S. My Spotify account is a Thai one debited from my Thai bank account. They work perfectly fine together... though I'm usually using both with a U.S. IP via VPN... I can't recall whether switching to a local Thai wifi IP creates any problems....but I don't think it does, as long as everything's on the same wifi network.

I think you can have only one Spotify account connected at any given time to one particular Alexa account. You can always change the setup in Alexa to a different Spotify account. But I don't think you can just swap back and forth via voice request.

I have multiple Echo Dot devices at home in BKK, all connected to my U.S. Amazon account, and usually connected via a U.S. IP address via router VPN. They all work fine, along with several Fire TV devices as well. I have a Thai-based Spotify acccount (about half the price of the U.S. version), and it's linked to my Alexa devices. Can play anything off Spotify on my Dot devices just by asking, "Alexa, play ...... on my Living Room Echo Dot." In the living room, my Dot is connected to a portable stereo via the 3.5 mm cable, while in the bedroom, my Dot there is connected to a Samsung soundbar via Bluetooth. So the audio quality for both is a whole lot better than just what comes from the small speaker in the Dots themselves. https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-on-alexa-devices/ If you have an Amazon Prime account, you also can play music via Alexa for free from your Amazon Music service, which I think last time I checked had about 2 million tracks. But it's included in one's Amazon Prime account, so there's no additional monthly fee required. Also, if you have MP3 files stored at home on a computer, you also can have Alexa devices play those tracks/albums/artists via voice request by setting up an excellent service that has a one-time yearly fee of $5.50 called My Media for Alexa: https://www.mymediaalexa.com/ "Stream your local media via Amazon Alexa Now you don't have to upload your private media collection to the cloud just to have Alexa voice control your music collection. My Media for Alexa installs a tiny media server on your computer that integrates with the ease and power of Amazon Alexa to give you voice control over your media collection. My Media lets you stream your music collection to your Amazon Echo or Amazon Dot without having to upload all your music collection to the Cloud."

Yep, the UK is now accepting even the Chinese vaccines starting Nov. 22 as part of a mixed dose regimen. From what I'm reading, they clarified their policy to allow other non-Chinese mixed doses back in early October. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countries-with-approved-covid-19-vaccination-programmes-and-proof-of-vaccination " Where 2 doses of a vaccine are required for a full course, you can: mix 2 different types of vaccine from the above list, for example Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna have the 2 vaccinations under 2 different approved programmes, for example Australia and Japan, UK and USA, France and Canada" AND Approved vaccines You must have had a complete course of one of the following vaccines at least 14 days before you arrive in England: Oxford/AstraZeneca Pfizer BioNTech Moderna Janssen and from 4am 22 November, World Health Organization’s Emergency Use Listing (WHO EUL) vaccines: Sinovac Sinopharm Beijing Covaxin https://www.thelocal.at/20210922/update-uk-says-european-travellers-with-mixed-covid-doses-do-count-as-fully-vaccinated/ UPDATE: UK says European travellers with mixed Covid doses do now count as ‘fully vaccinated’ 22 September, 2021 "After much confusion, criticism and contradictory messages the UK government has discreetly changed its Covid border rules - meaning that those vaccinated in Europe with mixed doses are considered fully inoculated and therefore can avoid quarantine. The UK government has updated its information regarding its new Covid border rules for England (Devolved countries Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may announce different policies) after complaints that its policy towards those with mixed vaccine doses was confusing. This week British embassies have published information to say the UK would accept those with mixed Covid doses (for example one dose of AstraZeneca and one Pfizer) as fully vaccinated from October 4th even though the UK’s Department of Health and Social care insisted to The Local that there was no change in policy."

Not hardly... The use of mixed vaccine regimens is increasingly being accepted in various countries around the world: https://qz.com/india/2065374/where-can-you-travel-with-mixed-covid-19-vaccine-doses/ This was as of late September: Also, by way of background: Mix-and-match COVID vaccines ace the effectiveness test Combining two different COVID-19 vaccines provides protection on par with that of mRNA vaccines — including protection against the Delta variant. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02853-4 However, most of of the mix and match research and use that I'm aware of seems to involve combinations of the mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna with the different AZ vaccine -- and not so much the mixing in of either of the current Chinese vaccines.

While everyone's laughing at Anutin, as am I, there's also a couple serious things to consider here... 1. If Switzerland rejected Anutin's 2 Sinovac plus 1 AZ vaccine history, that presumably means they're gonna do the same for any other Thai citizen who's had the same (and that's A LOT at this point) -- two Sinovac and/or two Sinovac plus an AZ booster. 2. I wonder how many other countries out there might be following the same kind of vaccine entry policy? It's a bit of a strange decision considering that the WHO has approved both Sinovac and Sinopharm as legitimate vaccines, despite their less than stellar effectiveness.

I support entry quarantines for people who are either only partially vaccinated or not vaccinated at all for COVID.... However, whomever thought up the idea of calling that "Happy Quarantine" is definitely residing in mental la-la land.....

Not on my soi in central BKK, they're not. Yes, there are combo restaurant-bars that have been serving alcohol under the new rules. But at least on my soi -- and elsewhere from various reports here -- there are lots of pretty much bar-only places that have reopened and been serving alcohol at least since the start of November.

I think bringing the performance of OTHER vaccines into this discussion, while providing correct info, muddied the waters some, as this discussion is about the COVID vaccines, not those for various other illnesses. As far as the current COVID vaccines are concerned, I haven't seen any credible scientific opinion published that says the current vaccines are likely to entirely eliminate coronavirus infections from the world. The best current expected result for current COVID vaccines, assuming people take them, seems to be that COVID infection rates and cases will be significantly reduced, and hopefully accompanying medical advances (treatments) will lessen the illness impact for those who end up stiill being infected. I'm ardently pro COVID vaccine in all this, for all the obvious reasons. And everyone who can be safely vaccinated should be vaccinated for the good of everyone. But in their current version, the COVID vaccines are not a 100% solution, as is pretty well understood by all involved. But they're the best solution we've got, for the time being.

One thing to keep in mind about the vax stats for BKK that the government uses is.... they're using an artificially low population number of 7+ million, from an old, outdated census. The more recent figure from their newer census is 10+ million, which if used, would make their vax rate for BKK look considerably less. Another example of playing with the numbers to make them look better than they are.... Kind of similar to the linguistic gymnastics they've often taken to lately talking about the shares of people who have been "vaccinated" -- which you might think means "fully vaccinated," but instead in their use often means just one shot. They've been consciously blurring the lines between "vaccinated" and "fully vaccinated."

To the best of my knowledge, most Thailand-based health insurers won't accept new policies from anyone older than 65. There are a couple exceptions, but not many.... [If you get insured by age 65 and keep the policy in force, some but not all will allow you to continue renewing for life and/or till age 99...though obviously the premiums at that point get to be rather extreme]. International insurers outside Thailand is a different issue, but those international policies generally are far more expensive than the Thai-based ones.

My impression is, when you're dealing with the government vaccine program here at least in the past, they've only been interested in, and only keep track of, what if any vaccines you've previously received from them. I don't think I was ever asked anywhere along the Thai government process whether I'd traveled abroad and received any vaccinations abroad. However, that may get more complicated now under the new rules for inbound international travel for Thailand, where you can certify that you've been fully vaccinated anywhere, and have to provide the specific details, in order to avoid (two weeks?) quarantine. Is that records system going to be tied into the MoPH's domestic vaccinations database? I don't know...

So please correct me if I'm wrong about this... But for someone in Thailand who's already received two regular doses of something other that Sinopharm/Sinovac, I think there are only two booster dose options available to the general public... 1. purchase a Moderna dose via the private hospitals program, and hope for the best, or 2. travel abroad to another country/home country that has a better supply / more easily available supply of vaccine doses, and get it there. Am I missing anything else in terms of booster options that exist right now for the non double Sinovac/Sinopharm folks?

I believe when I registered for my single Moderna dose as a booster, the hospital's guidelines indicated they wouldn't give that shot until 6 months after I had received my second regular [AZ] vaccination, which wasn't until September. So in my personal case, I'm not rushing.... but just hoping there's a booster dose light still at the end of the tunnel.

I got two AZ doses thru the government program. And then registered with a private hospital and paid for a single Moderna dose as a booster... So at least in theory that's supposed to work. However, reports are that the incoming available Moderna doses being delivered thru the private hospitals association are, at least thus far, just a fraction of the number of doses pre-sold by those hospitals. And those who haven't received any vaccine as yet typically are getting first priority for those Moderna doses... So where that leave those who have paid for Moderna, but already received two doses of something else, remains pretty unclear.

Double dose Sinopharm folks also, according to the AIS vaccine registration website linked above: https://vaccineforthais.ais.th/Reserve/Login

I have a contact who's in professional touch with Samitivej, and they indicated today that the hospital says they've thus far only received Moderna doses for about 10% of all the people who had prepaid with them. There apparently are promises that more doses will be coming in coming weeks/months, but the details/prospects of that seem fuzzy. My contact said the hospital staff there handling the vaccines program are <deleted> about the whole current situation. But supposedly, the hospital is going to be doing their initial notifications to those at the top of their Moderna queue this week by SMS phone message. The top priority being those who have yet to receive any vaccine, and then ordered by how early they prepaid for their doses. My wife has not received any vaccine as yet, and prepaid with them probably a month or more ago... And thus far, she's received nothing from them.

Let's see... which would I prefer.... --freezing cold and snow at home with no mask, or --tropical sunny Thailand, attractive young women and wearing a mask.... DUH!!!

I resemble that allegation! ???? PS -- anything wrong with that as a travel plan??? Everyone needs a travel bucket list!

So, in that event, what exactly, if anything, could a Paypal personal account in Thailand be used for? --Can receive funds, but can't withdraw them. --can't hold a balance, so does that really mean you can't receive funds either? --doesn't say you can't make a payment, but if you can't have a balance, the payment couldn't come from your balance. Perhaps the payment could still be made via Paypal TH from a linked Thai bank account?

Just set a "Not To Exceed" budget that you're comfortable with, and explain it to her in advance, and then go from there. And/or, I always tell my wife in such matters, "OK, I'll pay up to XXX baht, and anything beyond that, it's your money to pay. And not surprisingly, she usually manages to pick something she wants within my pre-established budget! ????

Thus the reason I wrote above -- "(within your established price and other constraints)"

For the procedures staff, to prevent against sprays. For the others, likely, because they don't have enough actual N95 masks available via their employers, so are combining lesser masks with the face shields, since the latter can be perpetually re-used, but the N95 and other masks have to be regularly replaced.

Once you narrow down the field some, have you considered taking her shopping with you and letting her try on and get a feel for a preferred choice (within your established price and other constraints)?