TallGuyJohninBKK

As usual, you selectively chose to ignore other important details of the same report, as sourced in the link posted above: "The Ministry of Public Health also reported the total number of current COVID hospitalizations rated in serious condition climbed to 501, a 28% increase over the prior week and a tally that appears to be Thailand's highest in almost a year and a half. The number of currently hospitalized COVID patients requiring intubation / ventilation to breathe also rose to 187, up 26% from the prior week, and the highest number in that category since mid-June 2023." And actually, no, official COVID deaths in Thailand haven't "flatlined". The 12 reported for the most recent week was the highest weekly number since July 2023. At the beginning of 2024, the weekly COVID deaths count reported here were running 7-8 per week.

Ditto on that here for me in central BKK today.... Guess the TMD ought to change their motto to: "Day Late and Dollar Short!" 😄

That doesn't look like the uniforms worn by BTS station security staff. It looks more like the uniforms worn by the male ticket counter staff.

COVID cases/hospitalizations in Thailand have been rising steadily for the past two months since mid-March. https://aseannow.com/topic/1326140-hospitalizations-climb-in-thailands-spring-2024-covid-surge/?do=findComment&comment=18893219

Yes, AZ was supported by Warp Speed in the U.S. But the vaccine never received approval for use there. July 2020: "The vaccine candidate, currently in human trials, is one of the candidates funded and supported by the US Operation Warp Speed (OWS) programme." https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/emergent-astrazeneca-deal/

AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, citing surplus of newer vaccines Pharmaceutical company says newer shots led to decline in demand for AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus. The announcement follows the pharmaceutical company in March voluntarily withdrawing its European Union marketing authorisation, which is the approval to market a medicine in member states. ... In a statement, AstraZeneca said the decision was made because there is now a variety of newer vaccines available that have been adapted to target Covid-19 variants. This had led to a decline in demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied. “According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over 3bn doses were supplied globally,” the statement said. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/08/astrazeneca-withdraws-covid-19-vaccine-worldwide-citing-surplus-of-newer-vaccines

London (CNN) — AstraZeneca is withdrawing its highly successful coronavirus vaccine, citing the availability of a plethora of new shots that has led to a decline in demand. The vaccine — called Vaxzevria and developed in partnership with the University of Oxford — has been one of the main Covid-19 vaccines worldwide, with more than 3 billion doses supplied since the first was administered in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2021. ... In a notice on its website, the European Medicines Agency also announced the withdrawal, which means that Vaxzevria is no longer authorized to be marketed or sold in European Union countries. AstraZeneca said it would work with regulators in other countries to “align on a clear path forward,” including withdrawing marketing authorizations for the vaccine where no future commercial demand is expected. (more) https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/business/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-withdrawal/index.html

No rain in central BKK this afternoon. But shortly before 3 pm, the official temperature reading says a chilly [ 😝 ] 97F degrees... Which, I'm not complaining about at this point, given that the typical afternoon readings in BKK in past weeks have been at 100F or above.

Just another day in the life... These things, we come to know and expect. 😞

I'm sure they'd be happy to take your money. When you gonna pay up? 🙂 FWIW, there have been some recent proposals that would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help fund the SS gap. I believe those would target incomes over $400K per year. But not surprisingly, one particular political party doesn't seem too keen on that plan. From the OP article: "Congressional Democrats have proposed higher taxes on the wealthy to support Social Security. Congressional Republicans have balked at that, instead calling for reducing the benefit formula and raising the retirement age for younger workers."

I've used two services lately: Planet Express based in Southern California and has their website by that name, a service that I liked and used for a long time, but ceased using a year ago when they had a long string of having my economy shipping packages go astray. They do also offer a full range of shipping methods, and a person could probably avoid the non-delivery risk by opting for delivery via FedEx or DHL. But the shipping rate's gonna be more expensive, and Thai Customs on this end likely will add on VAT and potentially a Customs duty charge as well. Though to set up a NEW account with Planet Express, a person would have to go thru the process of filling out and submitting USPS mail forwarding documentation to PE in order for them to activate your account. That's a standard USPS requirement. More recently, I've been using a service called WeShippingUSA, which is run by Thais and operates via Facebook. They only have two options: 1. ocean shipping that takes about 3 months and has a flat rate of 300b per kilo, no extra charges except for local EMS mail delivery to your home here, or 2. air freight handling, which takes about 2 weeks and has a flat rate of 800b per kilo, no extra charges except for local EMS mail delivery to your home here. (No extra charges meaning no added risk for VAT or Customs duty. Their fee is all-inclusive.) In both options with WeShippingUSA, thru dozens of orders, thus far, they have a perfect delivery record for my stuff, though occasionally they run a couple days behind schedule for their ultimate delivery times here. Payment is via Thai bank transfer to their account here. Another option, if you have family or similar back in the U.S., would be to have the purchased phone delivered to them, and they could re-mail it to you here in Thailand using one of several USPS International mail options, which could be insured. The package would then be delivered here via ThaiPost. And in either case for Planet Express or WeShippingUSA, they would be able to handle the shipping of a newly purchased mobile phone, so long as the lithium battery is packed inside the phone, and not separate outside.

Congress has less than a decade to fix Social Security before the popular program runs short of cash, threatening a sharp cut in benefits for nearly 60 million retirees and family members, according to a government report released Monday. The report from Social Security trustees predicts the retirement program's trust fund will be exhausted in November of 2033. At that point, benefits would automatically be cut by 21%, unless lawmakers adopt changes before then. There's some good news in the new forecast. Thanks to higher-than-expected worker productivity and a decline in expected disabilities, Social Security isn't burning through cash as fast as trustees predicted a year ago. (more) https://www.npr.org/2024/05/06/1249406440/social-security-medicare-congress-fix-boomers-benefits

I've flown thru Taipei with EVA in both directions many times on the US to BKK routes. My typical scheduled layover there has been 3 hours, sometimes 4. But even if it had been shorter, the transfers on EVA for US to BKK flights are all within the same terminal, not very far to walk, and their security measures are pretty efficient and speedy in my experience. A person probably could make the connecting flight with a full one hour layover. But 2 hours would be safer and more relaxing.

Don't think so, Dude! 😞 But I have a famous bridge to sell, if you're interested....

I don't remember anyone saying that. Though there were a lot of specific FALSE COVID vaccine claims made that did fit into the conspiracy theory realm (like the whoppers that COVID vaccines contained trackers or were magnetic). See below: Rather, in the case of the AZ vaccine, for example, there were required warnings back to 2021 that blood clots could be a rare side effect, among other potential side effects (see below) To illustrate that fact, when I got my first two COVID vaccine shots in Thailand back in mid-2021, I was well-aware of the much publicized concern about very rare blood clots, and went ahead with the two shots anyway, because: 1. at that time, here in Thailand, I didn't have any choice of Pfizer or Moderna mRNA.... and all the reports I saw at the time indeed indicated the clotting issue was very rare, which has turned out to be the case. and 2. the only other options available here at the time were one of the Chinese made versions, which most tests at the time showed were less effective than the AZ vaccine. However, as noted above, there always have been many false conspiracy theories spread about COVID vaccines, including by a lot of members here. So for those folks... Bust Myths and Learn the Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines Updated Sept. 27, 2023 --COVID-19 vaccines do not contain microchips and they cannot make you magnetic. --COVID-19 vaccines do not alter DNA. --Not all events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) are caused by vaccination. etc... https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html Here, BTW, is an example of the kind of potential side effect disclosures that were in place for the AZ vaccine back in 2021: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine: What to know about side effects Updated on July 15, 2021 "Vaxzevria, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, may cause some of the mostly mild-to-moderate side effects that people often encounter after any vaccination. However, there are also some recent controversies surrounding rare blood clotting incidents linked to this vaccine." Common side effects Potential risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome Controversy regarding blood clots https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine-what-to-know-about-side-effects There were plenty of disclosures made back during that time.

No, I never said or meant to imply that the elderly aren't most of the reported COVID deaths here. They are... I merely pointed out, they're not ALL or the ONLY reported COVID deaths here, which is correct. Sorry if my phrasing didn't properly convey that intended message.

Except when they're not: BTW, hope you're not suggesting you think it's fine to write off folks in their 60s and 70s or older, and consider their deaths from COVID nothing to be concerned about, when in many cases they would have had years more to live? That demographic, BTW, certainly includes a goodly portion of the members and participants in this forum, myself included!

Because that detail wouldn't fit well on their nice weekly charts...

Why don't they also report the general age ranges of those hospitalized in serious condition and those requiring intubation to breath because of COVID? Also, why don't they provide any details about the COVID death of a 0-4 year-old that was reported at the end of last month? Or the COVID death of a 20-49 year-old that was reported for the past week?

Is COVID getting better or worse in Thailand now vs. a year ago? What do the numbers say? Not a good look! First week of May 2023: 1,699 new COVID hospitalizations 10 COVID deaths 219 COVID hospitalized patients in serious condition 113 COVID hospitalized patients requiring intubation/ventilation First week of May 2024 (as shown above in this thread): 1,792 new COVID hospitalizations 12 COVID deaths 501 COVID hospitalized patients in serious condition (a 28% increase over the prior week and a reported tally that is Thailand's highest in almost a year and a half). 187 COVID hospitalized patients requiring intubation/ventilation Source: Weekly COVID report from May 2023: https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

If and when you can provide any credible evidence showing or even suggesting that they do, then I'll start to pay attention... Meanwhile....

The numbers in the NYT chart above are small, but they're average weekly COVID death rates per 100,000 population in the U.S. And when you multiply those out thru a population of about 330 million people, and 52 weeks in a year, suddenly they're not so small. Also, that chart happens to be for the period Oct. 1, 2022 to April 1, 2023, which was pretty well past the peaks of COVID deaths in the U.S., that had occurred earlier. The NYT graphic roughly covers the October 2022 to April 2023 period marked by my red box in the US CDC COVID deaths chart below: Source:

Here's how we know from the New York Times, one source among many: https://archive.ph/HSUsy The benefits outweigh the risks.

From the New York Times amid their reporting about Shaun Barcavage's personal claims (including those cited in the YT video above) as part of a broader article about some people's beliefs that they suffered vaccine-related injuries: The overall picture "Here’s my best attempt to summarize the full truth about the Covid vaccines: They are overwhelmingly safe and effective. They have saved millions of lives and prevented untold misery around the world. They’re so valuable that elderly people and those with underlying health conditions should be vigilant about getting booster shots when they’re eligible. For most children, on the other hand, booster shots seem to have only modest benefits, which is why many countries don’t recommend them. And, yes, a small fraction of people will experience significant side effects from the vaccines. Eventually, scientific research may be able to better understand and reduce those side effects — which is more reason to pay attention to them. Overall, Covid vaccines are probably the most beneficial medical breakthrough in years, if not decades." https://archive.ph/HSUsy#selection-7853.0-7853.257

Fauci was correct, that the clinical trials did not surface TTS blood clots as an issue for the viral vector vaccines. But you left out the final part of his quote referring to the clinical trials done on the vaccine as part of its application for approval: "DR. FAUCI: Yeah. The vaccine hesitancy surrounding AZ, related to reports from the European group that there was a greater incidence of thromboembolic events associated with the vaccine: During this trial here, there was no indication at all. Now, remember, you’re dealing with 30,000 people in a trial." As documented and cited above, the TTS side effect was so rare that it didn't surface in the clinical trials on the AZ vaccine, which involved tens of thousands of participants, and didn't emerge until the vaccine (once approved outside the U.S.) was widely given.