TallGuyJohninBKK

Jeff, that article you cite above on vaccines preventing transmission is from early 2021, well before the arrival of Omicron. While the current vaccines have been shown to still have some effect in preventing/reducing the transmission of Omicron (those here who say there's no prevention are wrong), everything I've been reading of the science lately says that the prevention of transmission effect has lessened a lot with Omicron vs the variants before it. But still some, and still substantial effect in preventing serious illness and death.

And more on this point -- Pfizer vaxed and boosted people are less likely to transmit the virus, including Omicron, than the unvaccinated, from another separate study: "Seventy-eight percent of Danes have been fully vaccinated, while nearly 48% of those have received a third "boosted" shot. More than eight out of ten Danes have received Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine. The study also found that booster-vaccinated people are less likely to transmit the virus, regardless of the variant, than the unvaccinated." https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-evades-immunity-better-than-delta-danish-study-finds-2022-01-03/

"Dr. David Dowdy, associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said it's difficult to succinctly explain the vaccines’ nuanced effects on transmission. A vaccine might protect you from a passing interaction with someone at a grocery store, but it may not prevent infection from someone you live with and share air with for several hours a day. “It gets very easy to misconstrue,” Dowdy said. “If someone asks, do vaccines prevent infection, and you have to give a yes or no answer, then the answer is no, they’re not a perfect blockade. But do the vaccines offer some protection against infection? The answer is yes.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/01/21/fact-check-vaccines-limit-serious-illness-and-death-covid-19/9185671002/

To be fair, and report whatever legitimate news is available, there also was news in the past few days of a very small and preliminary study out of Israel on its use of a fourth Pfizer vaccine booster shot. And, while the researchers involved in that study reported initial findings that the fourth Pfizer dose wasn't very effective at preventing Omicron infections, they also reported those vaccinated with the 4th dose did have somewhat fewer infections. Israeli trial, world’s first, finds 4th dose ‘not good enough’ against Omicron Expert at Sheba Medical Center says jab raises COVID antibody levels, but there are ‘still a lot of infections’ among those who received it Nearly a month after Sheba Medical Center launched a landmark study to test the efficacy of a fourth COVID shot, the hospital said Monday that this fourth booster was only partially effective in protecting against the Omicron strain. “The vaccine, which was very effective against the previous strains, is less effective against the Omicron strain,” Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay, a lead researcher in the experiment said. “We see an increase in antibodies, higher than after the third dose,” Regev-Yochay said. “However, we see many infected with Omicron who received the fourth dose. Granted, a bit less than in the control group, but still a lot of infections,” she added. (more) https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-trial-worlds-first-finds-4th-dose-not-good-enough-against-omicron/ So, even the Israel study above contradicts those here who are claiming (in this case mRNA vaccines) do nothing to prevent Omicron infections.

A number of posters here have been claiming, wrongly it seems, that COVID vaccines in general don't at all prevent Omicron infections. That's NOT what the latest science shows, according to a New York Times report last month. "All vaccines still seem to provide a significant degree of protection against serious illness from Omicron, which is the most crucial goal. But only the Pfizer and Moderna shots, when reinforced by a booster, appear to have initial success at stopping infections, and these vaccines are unavailable in most of the world. The other shots — including those from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and vaccines manufactured in China and Russia — do little to nothing to stop the spread of Omicron, early research shows. ... The Pfizer and Moderna shots use the new mRNA technology, which has consistently offered the best protection against infection with every variant. All of the other vaccines are based on older methods of triggering an immune response. The Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac — which make up almost half of all shots delivered globally — offer almost zero protection from Omicron infection." https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/health/omicron-vaccines-efficacy.html And an update from the NYT yesterday on the same issue, citing new U.S. CDC data: Booster shots are instrumental in protecting against Omicron, new C.D.C. data suggest. "Booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines aren’t just preventing infections with the highly contagious Omicron variant — they’re also keeping infected Americans from ending up in the hospital, according to data published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The extra doses are 90 percent effective against hospitalization with the variant, the agency reported. Booster shots also reduced the likelihood of a visit to an emergency department or urgent care clinic. The extra doses were most effective against infection and death among Americans aged 50 and older, the data showed. ... On Thursday night, the C.D.C. published additional data showing that in December, unvaccinated Americans 50 years and older were about 45 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who were vaccinated and got a third shot." https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/health/cdc-covid-booster-omicron.html

The article you cited gives a direct answer to the question you posed. But for some reason, you decided not to reference that explanation in your post above, instead preferring to make some kind of vague innuendo about COVID deaths. Here's the explanation in the article you cited, and it's hardly new or exciting, and the same reality regarding COVID death counts has been recited many times before, to anyone paying attention: "“What the data is showing to us is that the deaths that are being reported as COVID deaths greatly understate the actual death losses among working-age people from the pandemic. It may not all be COVID on their death certificate, but deaths are up just huge, huge numbers.” Let me repeat the key point with my emphasis added: "the deaths that are being reported as COVID deaths greatly understate the actual death losses among working-age people from the pandemic."

FAA estimates 78 percent of US planes can now land at airports with 5G C-band It seems to be quickly clearing altimeters now that the rollout has happened "The FAA has announced that an “estimated 78 percent of the U.S. commercial fleet” have been cleared to land at airports with 5G C-band, even under low-visibility conditions. The agency’s statement comes after a week of controversy surrounding the rollout of AT&T and Verizon’s upgraded cellular tech, which saw US airlines warning of “catastrophic disruption” to travel and shipping and some international airlines announcing they’d halt flights to some US airports.'' Finally, a bit better explanation of why the kerfuffle, especially given that Verizon and AT&T were only going to use new 5G bands fairly far from the altimeter frequencies -- ALTIMETER TESTING!: "Given the high stakes, the FAA has said that only planes with altimeters that it has tested and cleared will be allowed to land in sub-optimal conditions at airports where the new 5G tech has rolled out. ... The FAA changed that language on Thursday, saying that the 13 cleared altimeters should cover “all” Boeing 717, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787, MD-10/-11, and Airbus A300, A310, A319, A320, A330, A340, A350, and A380 models. It also notes that “some” Embraer 170 and 190 regional jets are covered." Still, 22% of the U.S.'s civil aviation fleet is A LOT of jets and flights that currently aren't cleared to operate at airports where the new 5G services have been turned on. https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22893597/faa-5g-c-band-rollout-airports-cleared-altimeters-regional-jets I guess my question is, why is the FAA only faffing around with testing the altimeter models vs the new 5G frequency bands NOW???

Know you're not interested in beaches. But you can do pretty much everything you ask for above in Hua Hin (and adjoining Cha-Am)... Wife and I just came back from a 4 day trip there, and thoroughly enjoyed it as a get-away from BKK. Great weather right now. Lots of very good farang eating and drinking places. Grab is readily available for local transport. Shopping as desired, etc etc. Plenty of hotels to choose from, and rates quite good right now. You can easily take a taxi. But we took the VIP bus that runs daily between Suvarnabhumi and HH for a few hundred baht per person. About a 3 to 3.5 hour trip.

"Back in February 2021, Verizon and AT&T paid $45.4 billion and $23.4 billion, respectively, for C-band spectrum for 5G use in the most expensive spectrum auction in history. Fast forward almost a year, and both telcos voluntarily agreed in early December to postpone their C-band deployment for a month due to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerns that the use of these 5G bands could interfere with existing radio-based safety equipment, a delay which was subsequently extended to January 19." ... Part of the frustration evident from the network operators lies in the fact that C-band spectrum is already widely used elsewhere in the world for 5G, without showing any detrimental impact on aircraft passenger safety. C-band spectrum has already been deployed, and commercial networks launched, by a total of 136 network operators in 56 countries worldwide, according to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). This includes almost 11,000 airports (assuming nationwide coverage in each market). It’s also not new — the earliest use of C-band spectrum for 5G was in South Korea, which launched in Q4 2018." "The operators have been at pains to point out that their C-band spectrum includes a 220 MHz wide guard band, utilizing the lower portion of the C-band, from 3.7 GHz to 3.8 GHz." https://www.speedtest.net/insights/blog/verizon-att-cant-wait-for-c-band/

From the full version of the OP news report: "In Thailand, 5G uses the 2.6GHz frequency band, which is quite a distance from the radio altimeter frequency band, and should not cause interference." "The potential impact of 5G signals on aircraft relates to interference with the operation of critical and highly sensitive systems, especially the radio altimeter, which typically operates in the 4.2GHz – 4.4GHz range." Not even close....

Originally, there were a bunch of flight cancellation announcements, but later several of the airlines issuing those seem to have backed off them: "The FAA on Wednesday said it has issued new approvals that will allow around 62% of commercial planes in the US to make "low-visibility landings at airports where wireless companies deployed 5G C-band. Even with these approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected," the FAA added. Japan Airlines said it will resume flights on its Boeing 777 planes to the US as a result, while ANA has taken down the page where it previously detailed cancelled flights. Emirates has since clarified three return flights will continue running on a different airplane, including Dubai to Boston, San Francisco and Houston on Jan. 20 with the return services on Jan. 21. Emirates will still be suspending flights to Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Miami, Newark, Orlando and Seattle on Jan. 20, however." https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/major-international-airlines-cancel-some-us-flights-amid-5g-rollout/ So, maybe some aviation type here can better explain this.... Is what the FAA is doing via the announcement above is giving MORE flights and pilots permission to make manual landings (low visibility landings) without having the rely on the altimeters that MIGHT be impaired???

No.... this internal feud has been going on in the U.S. on this issue for some time. And there were several prior postponements of earlier dates for AT&T and Verizon (the U.S. mobile carriers involved) turning on the new 5G service on the bands in question that had been requested by the federal transportation agency, and agreed to by the mobile carriers, on behalf of the airlines and their concerns. Also, yes, from everything I've read, the reason this has become a particular problem in the U.S., and not generally an issue elsewhere, is because the U.S. government auctioned off 5G spectrum not generally used elsewhere that apparently comes too close to the aviation related frequencies. [AFAIK, there's almost NO overlap between the 5G bands used right now in TH vs those currently used in the U.S.] Now, WHY the Federal Communications Commission proceeded with auctioning off those bands when apparently there were concerns by the aviation industry, I haven't seen very well explained. At least until recently, I saw the government FCC types insisting they didn't think there's be any operating conflict, contrary to the aviation industry's position.

I'd certainly "jump" her if the opportunity arose! ????

Recall the news story here a week or two back on how members of the RTP supposedly have amassed huge amounts of personal debt. I'm guessing, it's not all going for mia nois.... On the other hand, after perusing the photos for this article, maybe it is! ????

I think to some extent, there's a different rental culture that exists here vs in my home country, perhaps in part because of market conditions, perhaps in part other things... When I rented in the U.S., the owners were usually companies, either big or small. And there really wasn't any personal element to the transactions. Most of the time, the rents went UP every year for everyone in the complex, regardless of whether they'd lived there 1 year or 20. Often, 4-7 percent per year. And perhaps part of the reason for that is the rental market in the U.S. in general is tight. Here. because of oversupply of new housing, the economy and lately COVID, I think tenants in general have more leverage. And PERHAPS landlords are more willing to operate the way you have, and the way my landlord has. Although, you're a private party landlord, as is my landlord, not some corporate rental entity. I'm guessing, those types here aren't so accommodating.

Yummy!!! ????

Are you renting your units today for the same monthly rate that you charged in 2007? ????

This whole topic has long been a mystery to me here in Thailand. In my home country, clearly, the landlord would be responsible for needed repairs to things like air con or provided appliances in the unit. Because, it's their property, not the tenant's. Here, it often doesn't seem to work that way. I've lived in the same rental for almost 15 years now in BKK, and the boilerplate lease in TH language I've always had and renewed with the private party TH landlord is silent on such things. In practice, the landlord has never paid for things like air con service or cleaning, or even the replacement of one air con unit that died at one point. We have, and did. But, we also like our home very much, have a great location, don't want to move, are on very good terms with the landlord's family who also lives-on site, AND, are paying the same below market rental rate as when I moved in almost 15 years ago. So, I pay for the air con cleaning and service, and to replace the unit when one dies every 10 years or so.... Hard to complain really, under the circumstances. But, in general, as a tenant, I think things like air con repairs ought to be the landlord's responsibility. I still don't know what Thai law thinks on that subject.

I think that's a good plan, and that's what I do now... The last time I had an retirement extension scheduled appointment at BKK CW was back in 2019 under the prior appointments system before it stopped functioning. On that visit, I didn't have those misc forms pre-filled out, and the IO handling appointments that day seemed pretty chuffed at me for taking up her valuable time (2-3 mins) filling out those BS forms at her desk.... ????

As best as I could decipher the dueling info posts on that issue, it appears that all that's required to enter the BKK CW complex these days as guest (as opposed to employees working there) is the filling out of the info/survey form that's available outside the front entrance.

Completed TM application forms with your photo attached for both the retirement extension and re-entry permit. And then for the retirement extension, filling out and signing four single page misc. forms that Immigration wants as part of your application. PDF copies of those forms are included/linked in my post above, which includes a complete list of the usual and sometimes documents requested. The IO you get may or may not want a copy of your most recent TM30 form. YMMV on that, based on various member reports here. But if you have one, best to bring along a copy just in case.

Times 10 years gets you to a cumulative fee of 100,000 baht for the so-called 10-year visa -- assuming they don't increase the yearly fee again somewhere along the way. And of course, no mention whatsoever of what their future criteria might be for the wealthy or pensioner categories in terms of things like Thai bank deposits or who knows what else.

Two points: 1. The academic quoted as the source of this article is just some public health professor up in Chiang Mai, and there's no indication from the article that she has any particular position or connection with the Thai government or MoPH. 2. And as for her comment... “You have to factor this in with our vaccine numbers which are increasing everyday..." Yes, the vaccine numbers are increasing every day, somewhat, because some people who've already had two vaccine doses are following public health guidance and getting third shot boosters, which lately are the majority of vax shots being given in Thailand. But in reality, even now, Thailand remains with about one-third of its population (30+%) NOT fully vaccinated with just two shots, and well short of its original goal of having 70% of the population fully vaccinated by the now passed end of 2021. So, there remains out there a very large population of Thais who have not been fully vaccinated even now, much less gone for their recommended third booster shot to help resist Omicron, and even more who may have received two early vaccine doses that by now have waning effectiveness. Thus, let's not talk about Thailand's lagging vaccine performance thus far as the basis for relaxing or reducing COVID related measures.

From the Associated Press: Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say ... Every infection provides a chance for the virus to mutate, and omicron has an edge over its predecessors: It spreads way faster despite emerging on a planet with a stronger patchwork of immunity from vaccines and prior illness. That means more people in whom the virus can further evolve. Experts don’t know what the next variants will look like or how they might shape the pandemic, but they say there’s no guarantee the sequels of omicron will cause milder illness or that existing vaccines will work against them. They urge wider vaccination now, while today’s shots still work. ... Experts say the virus won’t become endemic like the flu as long as global vaccination rates are so low. During a recent press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that protecting people from future variants — including those that may be fully resistant to today’s shots — depends on ending global vaccine inequity. (more) https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-pandemics-dc99bc9f769dd6d7cb669e3d185c6261

Useful article from the AP on omicron and the future of COVID: Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say ... Experts don’t know what the next variants will look like or how they might shape the pandemic, but they say there’s no guarantee the sequels of omicron will cause milder illness or that existing vaccines will work against them. They urge wider vaccination now, while today’s shots still work. ... “People have wondered whether the virus will evolve to mildness. But there’s no particular reason for it to do so,” he said. “I don’t think we can be confident that the virus will become less lethal over time.” ... “These huge unvaccinated swaths in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere are basically variant factories,” said Dr. Prabhat Jha of the Centre for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. “It’s been a colossal failure in global leadership that we have not been able to do this.” https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-science-health-pandemics-dc99bc9f769dd6d7cb669e3d185c6261