TallGuyJohninBKK

And that studies repeatedly have shown than being up-to-date on COVID XBB variant vaccinations reduces people's risk of serious COVID illness vs. those who haven't received the latest vaccine. Latest COVID-19 vaccines reduce hospitalization risk by around half "The latest COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk for hospitalization or visits to an ED or urgent care by around 50%, according to interim data published in MMWR. ... Overall, VE against COVID-19-associated ME or hospitalization was 51% (95% CI = 47%-54%) in the first 7 to 59 days after receiving an updated vaccine dose and 39% (95% CI = 33%-45%) in the 60 to 119 days after an updated vaccine dose. https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20240301/latest-covid19-vaccines-reduce-hospitalization-risk-by-around-half or the following from the U.S. CDC: "Protective tools, like vaccines and treatments, that decrease risk of COVID-19 disease (particularly severe disease) are now widely available. COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of symptomatic disease and hospitalization by about 50% compared to people not up to date on vaccination. Over 95% of adults hospitalized in 2023-2024 due to COVID-19 had no record of receiving the latest vaccine." https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/background/index.html#:~:text=Over 95% of adults hospitalized,of receiving the latest vaccine

I agree. I said several times here that the U.S. went too far and strayed into non-factual claims in several respects. But their comments also were correct about the often substandard quality or outright counterfeit versions of Chinese PPE, and that Sinovac was in fact less effective against COVID than the West's mRNA vaccines.

Curious that the Thai local news media -- thus far at least -- seem to be ignoring this latest COVID update from the Thai Ministry of Public Health -- 2,881 new COVID hospitalizations last week, the highest number in a year. But the MoPH nonetheless went on Facebook earlier today to warn about the risks of COVID in schools and amid rising COVID hospitalizations, in particular the health risks for what they call the "608" group -- meaning those age 60 and above, and those having any of a group of eight chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. that put them at higher risks for bad COVID outcomes. Source link: Per Facebook Translate: "The main strain that is being outbreak is the JN strain. 1 and the species of offspring that has the ability to spread more easily, non-severe symptoms, similar to common flu. I would like to emphasize that schools screen students every morning if they have respiratory symptoms, wear a hygienic mask and inform parents to take them for treatment or if the illness is found in a group, inform the local public health officer immediately. People with risk symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat should be checked early with ATK if infection is found. ย์. It is better to wear anti-infection masks, isolate yourself from others, and consult doctors urgently, especially in the 608 group, because if the infection risk group can have serious symptoms and fatalities."

I'd call your attention to this post from earlier in this thread... The U.S. was wrong in what they did with this disinformation campaign, but undoubtedly still were correct in a lot of what they said (though they went too far/over the top in trying to discredit China's less effective Sinovac COVID vacccine.

Well, we know enough about the symptoms of COVID to know that it has 748 people in Thailand currently hospitalized for COVID in serious condition, per today's update from the Thai MoPH in dark purple color below. Not to mention the 7 new official COVID deaths reported for last week in gray color below. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Also in the news today -- not Thaksin this time, but the current one now: Thai PM takes sick leave to recover from COVID-19 infection "Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is taking a sick leave after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Government Spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the prime minister fell ill, has felt tired since last Friday and went to see a doctor, who diagnosed a COVID infection. He was advised him to take a rest for a few days to avoid infecting others. He said he expects the prime minister to be able to return to work as normal on Wednesday." (more) https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-pm-takes-sick-leave-to-recover-from-covid-19-infection/ Seems there's still a virus going round and making people sick...

I have a higher COVID vaccine count than Mike above, and have regularly been wearing my N95 face masks when away from home and around others since the COVID pandemic began. Haven't been noticeably sick from anything in the past four years. Knock on wood. I'm going to continue on with what's been working for me as I go further into the 60s age range and hopefully beyond.

The full posts I've done on Thailand's weekly COVID reports always include whatever info is available on officially reported COVID deaths. And there's no clear trend in any direction, with the weekly reported death numbers bouncing up and down randomly. The latest full post, linked below, noted the following: "The latest weekly COVID deaths total has remained in the same typical single-digit range seen most of this year, despite the large increases in hospitalizations. The Thai MoPH in the past has adopted a relatively narrow definition of the types of deaths it will count as official COVID deaths. Of the 7 new official COVID deaths for the past week, the MoPH is reporting that 2 were male and 5 female. By age, 4 were ages 70 and above, 1 age 60-69, and 2 were ages 20-49." https://aseannow.com/topic/1326140-hospitalizations-climb-in-thailands-spring-2024-covid-surge/?do=findComment&comment=18995834 --------------------------------------- It's also worth noting by comparison that the UK, a country with roughly the same population as Thailand but better public health record keeping, has regularly been reporting more than 100 COVID deaths per week lately. Gives pause for wonder about Thailand's reporting... But then again, the UK hasn't seen a five-fold increase in new COVID hospitalizations over the past three months like Thailand has.... In the UK the COVID deaths and hospitalizations numbers pretty much stay in sync... Here, for unknown reasons, the hospitalization numbers spiral dramatically upward, but the death counts don't. Hmmmm. Recent COVID deaths in the UK: https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#deaths

That's true to a certain extent. But IMHO, better to keep catching up and do what you can to protect your health vs. failing to do so, and increasing your risks of COVID hospitalization or worse... Especially for those with COVID risk conditions that include older ages, a multitude of chronic health conditions including high blood pressure or being overweight, etc etc. -- that when you add them all together, ends up covering a large portion of the overall population.

Some here seemingly would have everyone ignore facts and reality like the following: "The latest MoPH report on new weekly COVID hospitalizations shows them continuing a long upward climb since mid-March. The weekly tallies during that recent period have been: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 May 18 - 1,882 May 25 -- 1,801 June 1 -- 1,863 June 8 -- 2,762 June 15 -- 2,881" https://aseannow.com/topic/1326140-hospitalizations-climb-in-thailands-spring-2024-covid-surge/?do=findComment&comment=18995834 https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Look at the size of the orange columns for COVID deaths. Then look at the size of the blue columns for flu deaths. Not even close. Also:

Yes in terms of continual mutations. Nope in terms of comparable impact: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data-research/dashboard/illness-severity.html

Re your question above, the last time I checked, the latest currently available XBB variant COVID vaccine is available at several locations around Bangkok on a pay for service basis, unlike the past COVID vaccine campaigns run by the government where all the COVID vaccines were free to the public. Here's a link on where the current COVID vaccines should still be available here:

Thailand hasn't had a national COVID vaccinations campaign for the general public since 2022... So that means, the vast majority of people in the country with few exceptions are not up-to-date on COVID vaccinations and have not received the latest currently available vaccine version aimed at the more recent XBB variant. In the west at least in places like the U.S. and UK, there will be new versions of the COVID vaccines released later this fall aimed at protecting against the latest KP.2 / JN.1 variants... But Thailand thus far has shown no signs of any plans to make those vaccines widely available to the public. PS - It's not like COVID vaccinations offer some kind of magical permanent protection. The COVID virus keeps changing/mutating, and the vaccine versions typically protect well for about 6 months before the protection wanes substantially... We're likely heading toward a similar situation as with the flu vaccines, where a new version is produced and given annually to reflect the latest strains of that virus, and to top-up the provided protection.

And subsequently corrected his earlier misstatements in later congressional testimony, which clearly showed that there was in fact science behind the social distancing policy adopted in the U.S., as the 2020 US GAO report I cited above clearly shows. But for some reason, you choose to quote his original mistaken comments, and ignore the subsequent clarifications and corrections he made, which were widely reported in the news as well.

Ahh, the good old Rupert Murdoch NY Post... Fauci was wrong when he originally made that off-handed comment above, and he later clarified his remarks in subsequent testimony before a House subcommittee, which I'm suspecting you knew.... In his clarification, Fauci noted that he wasn't involved in the drafting of the U.S. social distancing policy, which in fact came from the CDC. And when he said not backed by scientific data, he meant and clarified, there had not been randomized clinical trials done. "Fauci sought to clarify on Monday that the 6-foot guidance came from the CDC and was based on droplet research, telling lawmakers: "It had little to do with me since I didn't make the recommendation and my saying 'there was no science behind it' meant there was no clinical trial behind that." Though asked if social distancing requirements and other public health measures to reduce transmission saves lives, Fauci said "definitely." https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republicans-poised-grill-anthony-fauci-covid-19-response/story?id=110677611 And of course, there had been much research done on social distancing policies for viruses long before COVID came along, as this 2020 report by the U.S. GAO recounts: "A CDC guideline based on historical studies of selected infections says that the area of highest risk is within 3 feet of an infected person. Some studies suggest a buffer of 6 feet may further reduce risk. Other studies examining droplet dispersion in sneezing and coughing found they can go more than 6 feet. Also, viral material may persist in the air within a room for up to 3 hours." https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-545sp

When new weekly COVID hospitalizations have gone from 501 in mid-March to 2,881 as of last week, and are at their highest level in the past year, I'd certainly say something substantial is going on. Lots of people ending up hospitalized with COVID, and almost 750 of them as of today's update listed in "serious" condition. Meanwhile, I guess we'll just have to wonder whether and how the two COVID deaths reported for last week in the 20-49 age range were or weren't within your definition of "at risk."

Since you asked... the latest weekly COVID update is out today from the Thai MoPH: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main The Thai Ministry of Public Health on Monday reported another week of worsening COVID conditions in the country, as weekly new COVID hospitalizations rose again to 2,881, the highest level of the past year, and new deaths and COVID cases currently hospitalized in serious condition both increased as well. The new COVID status report for last week June 9-15 shows new COVID hospitalizations rising 4.3% from 2,762 two weeks ago to an average of 412 per day. The weekly counts of new COVID hospitalizations now have risen week-over-week for 13 of the past 14 weeks since mid-March, when the tally stood at 501. Also in the latest report, COVID deaths rose from 5 to 7 over the past two weeks. The count of COVID patients currently hospitalized in serious condition rose 12.8% from 663 two weeks ago to 748 last week, and hit its highest level since late August 2022 when that count was 763. (more) https://aseannow.com/topic/1326140-hospitalizations-climb-in-thailands-spring-2024-covid-surge/?do=findComment&comment=18995834 Cumulative COVID hospitalizations in Thailand thus far this year -- 26,126 Cumulative COVID deaths in Thailand thus far this year -- 144 Of the 7 newly reported COVID deaths for last week, two were in the age 20-49 range, per the Thai MoPH.

The Thai Ministry of Public Health on Monday reported another week of worsening COVID conditions in the country, as weekly new COVID hospitalizations rose again to 2,881, the highest level of the past year, and new deaths and COVID cases currently hospitalized in serious condition both increased as well. The new COVID status report for last week June 9-15 shows new COVID hospitalizations rising 4.3% from 2,762 two weeks ago to an average of 412 per day. The weekly counts of new COVID hospitalizations now have risen week-over-week for 13 of the past 14 weeks since mid-March, when the tally stood at 501. Also in the latest report, COVID deaths rose from 5 to 7 over the past two weeks. The count of COVID patients currently hospitalized in serious condition rose 12.8% from 663 two weeks ago to 748 last week, and hit its highest level since late August 2022 when that count was 763. Likewise, the tally of 339 currently hospitalized COVID patients requiring ventilation to breathe rose 18.5% from 286 the prior week, and hit its highest level since late December 2022 when the number was 352. With Monday's update, the latest total of new weekly COVID hospitalizations is now more than five times the number (501) at the start of the recent surge in mid-March, and reached Thailand's highest weekly total since early June 2023 when that count reached 3,085. Cumulative figures since the start of 2024 now are 26,126 COVID hospitalizations and 144 COVID deaths. The latest weekly COVID deaths total has remained in the same typical single-digit range seen most of this year, despite the large increases in hospitalizations. The Thai MoPH in the past has adopted a relatively narrow definition of the types of deaths it will count as official COVID deaths. Of the 7 new official COVID deaths for the past week, the MoPH is reporting that 2 were male and 5 female. By age, 4 were ages 70 and above, 1 age 60-69, and 2 were ages 20-49. The latest MoPH report on new weekly COVID hospitalizations shows them continuing a long upward climb since mid-March. The weekly tallies during that recent period have been: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 May 18 - 1,882 May 25 -- 1,801 June 1 -- 1,863 June 8 -- 2,762 June 15 -- 2,881 By comparison, Thailand's key weekly COVID indicators to start 2024 were 664 new COVID hospitalizations and 4 COVID deaths for the first week of the year. Other than providing the sparse weekly statistical updates on COVID deaths and hospitalizations, Thai public health officials have provided virtually no public details about the impacts of the rising hospitalizations, what's typically happening with the patients, their ages, where the cases are located by area, or any anything else. Source: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for June 9-15, 2024: --2,881 new COVID hospitalizations, averaging 412 per day, up 119 / 4.3% from the prior week --7 new COVID deaths, up 2 / 40% from the prior week --748 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), up 85 / 12.8% from the prior week (dark purple) --339 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, up 53 / 18.5% from the prior week (light purple) The current level of new weekly COVID hospitalizations has climbed markedly to more than five times the number (501) at the start of the recent surge in mid-March, and reached Thailand's highest weekly total since early June 2023 when that count reached 3,085. The latest weekly tally of 748 serious condition COVID hospitalized patients rose to its highest level since late August 2022 when that count was 763. The tally of 339 hospitalized patients requiring ventilation to breathe rose to its highest level since late December 2022 when the number was 352. Cumulative figures since the start of the year are COVID hospitalizations (26,126) & COVID deaths (144). Of the 7 new official COVID deaths for the past week, the MoPH is reporting that 2 were male and 5 female. By age, 4 were ages 70 and above, 1 age 60-69, and 2 were ages 20-49. The latest weekly COVID deaths total has remained in the same typical single-digit range seen most of this year, despite the large increases in hospitalizations. The Thai MoPH in the past has adopted a relatively narrow definition of the types of deaths it will count as official COVID deaths. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main The latest MoPH report on new weekly COVID hospitalizations shows them continuing a long upward climb, with week-over-week increases in 13 of the past 14 weeks since mid-March. The new weekly COVID hospitalizations during the recent period have been: March 16 -- 501 March 23 -- 630 March 30 -- 728 April 6 -- 774 April 13 -- 849 April 20 -- 1,004 April 27 -- 1,672 May 4 -- 1,792 May 11 -- 1,880 May 18 - 1,882 May 25 -- 1,801 June 1 -- 1,863 June 8 -- 2,762 June 15 -- 2,881 By comparison, Thailand's key weekly COVID indicators to start 2024 were 664 new COVID hospitalizations and 4 COVID deaths for the first week of the year. Last year, Thailand had a similar spring COVID surge that saw new weekly COVID hospitalizations peak at 3,085 in early June, so the latest weekly tally now remains just below last spring's peak.

Looks like the original avian influenza diagnosis for this guy's cause of death subsequently has been retracted: WHO acknowledges bird flu patient in Mexico died of other medical conditions The patient had been hospitalized for three weeks before contracting bird flu. "The World Health Organization confirmed Friday that Mexican authorities believe the man with a rare human case of bird flu actually died from other co-morbidities. ... In the latest update, the WHO said health officials in Mexico had concluded the man died because of his co-morbidities. "A national multidisciplinary group of experts was formed to investigate the cause of death. It included infectious disease specialists, pneumonologists, microbiologists and intensive care professionals," the WHO wrote. "Upon review of the patient's clinical history and records, the national multidisciplinary team concluded on 6 June that, although the patient had a laboratory-confirmed infection with avian influenza A(H5N2) virus, he died due to complications of his co-morbidities." (more) https://abcnews.go.com/Health/acknowledges-bird-flu-patient-mexico-died-medical-conditions/story?id=111131166 And more of the same from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-health-ministry-bird-flu-patient-died-chronic-disease-not-virus-2024-06-07/

A recent update on human cases of avian influenza from the WHO through May 3: "Globally, from 1 January 2003 to 3 May 2024, 889 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus were reported from 23 countries. Of these 889 cases, 463 were fatal (CFR of 52%)." And specifically in Asia from the WHO's Western Pacific Region: "From 1 January 2003 to 3 May 2024, a total of 254 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus have been reported from four countries within the Western Pacific Region (Table 1). Of these cases, 141 were fatal, resulting in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 56%. The last case in the Western Pacific Region was reported from China, with an onset date of 26 March 2024. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/wpro---documents/emergency/surveillance/avian-influenza/ai_20240524.pdf?sfvrsn=5f006f99_132 Looks like WHO is saying Thailand hasn't had an official/reported human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) in many years, but both Cambodia and Vietnam (our nextdoor neighbors) have had cases and deaths thus far in 2024: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/influenza/h5n1-human-case-cumulative-table/2024_may_tableh5n1.pdf?sfvrsn=6ab0fe24_3&download=true

And more: Counterfeit Covid Masks Are Still Sold Everywhere, Despite Misleading Claims Rising Covid cases have spurred a return to mask-wearing in the U.S. and overseas, at a time when flawed KN95s from China continue to dominate e-commerce sites. Updated Dec. 1, 2021 ... "Consumers who try to purchase N95 masks, mainly on Amazon, are often led to vendors selling fake or poorly made KN95s, a Chinese-made mask that is often marketed as an N95 equivalent despite the lack of testing by U.S. regulators to confirm virus-filtering claims. In fact, KN95 masks offered on Amazon and through other retailers are being sold without authorization for use in health care settings from the Food and Drug Administration, which last July revoked its emergency use authorization for imported masks that lack approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a category that includes all KN95s from China. They include brands like Boncare, which is produced by a company that has repeatedly failed federal testing standards; Yotu, whose manufacturer has also failed European Union testing; and ChiSip, an Amazon top seller whose manufacturer, Chengde Technology, was cited by the C.D.C. for falsely claiming approval by federal regulators. (more) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/health/covid-masks-counterfeit-fake.html AND China seizes over 89 million shoddy face masks Issued on: 26/04/2020 Beijing (AFP) – China has confiscated over 89 million poor quality face masks, a government official said Sunday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints about faulty protective gear exported worldwide. Demand for protective equipment has soared as nations across the globe battle the deadly coronavirus, which has infected nearly 2.9 million people. But a number of countries have complained about faulty masks and other products exported by China, mostly for use by medical workers and vulnerable groups. (more) https://www.france24.com/en/20200426-china-seizes-over-89-million-shoddy-face-masks

The Pentagon's disinformation campaign above notwithstanding, there was SOME truth to the claims being made, particularly as to the often substandard quality or simply counterfeit COVID PPE originating from China, and to China's Sinovac vaccine being less effective (though not harmful or fake as claimed, AFAIK) compared to its mRNA counterparts developed in the West: Countries reject China pandemic product batches The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey question quality of face masks and tests March 30 2020 Several countries in or neighbouring the EU have rejected Chinese-made coronavirus testing kits and protective equipment as substandard, raising concerns about the quality of supplies. The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey have all claimed there have been problems with products including masks and tests, as rising confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection in Europe increase dependence on Chinese imports. (more) https://archive.ph/L0opY or https://www.ft.com/content/f3435779-a706-45c7-a7e2-43efbdd7777b AND Chinese Covid-19 vaccine far less effective than initially claimed in Brazil, sparking concerns January 14, 2021 (CNN ) — A leading Chinese Covid-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech was just 50.38% effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, significantly lower than earlier results showed, according to a statement published by the government of Sao Paulo Tuesday. While the number exceeds the threshold required for regulatory approval, it falls far below the 78% previously announced, raising questions as to the veracity of the data and fueling skepticism over the apparent lack of transparency regarding Chinese vaccines. ... The results suggest Coronavac [the brand name for Sinovac's vaccine] is less effective than alternative vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have an efficacy rate of about 95%. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/asia/sinovac-covid-vaccine-efficacy-intl-hnk/index.html

And what was the U.S. Pentagon responding to from China?: China doubles down on baseless ‘US origins’ Covid conspiracy as Delta outbreak worsens August 6, 2021 "Hong Kong CNN — As Beijing grapples with a worsening outbreak of the Delta variant, an outlandish conspiracy theory linking the origin of the coronavirus to the United States military has gained renewed traction in China. The wholly unfounded theory, which claims the virus may have been leaked from a US Army lab, has been repeatedly promoted by Chinese officials and state media since March last year. ... The campaign comes after Beijing rejected WHO’s proposal for a second-phase probe into the origins of Covid-19 last month. The study would include audits of laboratories and markets in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the pandemic. That has drawn the ire of Beijing, with a top Chinese health official accusing WHO of “disregarding common sense and defying science.” https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/06/china/china-covid-origin-mic-intl-hnk/index.html