TallGuyJohninBKK

As for the anti-vaxers claims about a connection to so-called excess deaths, that's also been repeatedly debunked and proven false. No Evidence Excess Deaths Linked to Vaccines, Contrary to Claims Online https://www.factcheck.org/2023/04/scicheck-no-evidence-excess-deaths-linked-to-vaccines-contrary-to-claims-online/ COVID-19 vaccines aren’t responsible for the excess mortality of 2022 Unsurprisingly, reports of excess mortality well into 2022 became fodder for claims by vaccine-skeptic groups that mass vaccination against COVID-19 was responsible for this increase in deaths (see here and here for examples of such social media posts). An article by the website The Exposé, published at the end of November 2022, claimed that “at least 118k children and young adults have ‘died suddenly’ in the USA” and that this was “most likely due to the Covid-19 injections”. This is a variation of the recurring false allegations that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe and deadly that Health Feedback debunked on multiple occasions (see here, here, and here). As we’ll show below, the claims linking vaccination to excess mortality are baseless. https://healthfeedback.org/what-can-explain-the-excess-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-europe-in-2022/ No evidence COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are significant contributing factor to UK’s 30,000 excess cardiovascular deaths Millions of people have viewed a BBC News interview with a British cardiologist who used the broadcast to spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. ... The BHF spokesperson also rejected the claim that mRNA vaccines, which were rolled out in England in December 2020 (here), had caused the excess number of deaths, writing in an email that the benefits of vaccination “far outweigh the very small risk of rare side effects like myocarditis or pericarditis for the vast majority of people, especially as people get older”. Reuters has addressed similar claims linking COVID-19 vaccines with excess mortality (here, here and here), cardiac arrests (here, here and here), and other heart issues. https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-vaccines-excessdeaths/fact-check-no-evidence-covid-19-mrna-vaccines-are-significant-contributing-factor-to-uks-30000-excess-cardiovascular-deaths-idUSL1N3490M3/ Lots more of the same from various reputable sources... But the above links are a good sampling showing the nonsense of the claims.

Malhotra has been proven wrong so many times regarding his claims about COVID vaccines it's hard to keep track: UK cardiologist misleads on Covid-19 vaccine safety A cardiologist from the United Kingdom says Covid-19 vaccines should be suspended because they pose a greater threat than the virus itself. This is false; experts say his research misleads on the risks of vaccination by cherry-picking evidence and relying on flawed studies, and public health authorities agree the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks. https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32L483D Article by cardiologist Aseem Malhotra made unsupported claims about the benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccination Inadequate support: Malhotra’s claim that COVID-19 vaccines might do more harm than good is based on anecdotal evidence and low-quality studies—some of them disputed—that are insufficient to support his claim. Cherry-picking: The article cited mainly studies suggesting a negative effect of COVID-19 vaccines, but didn’t acknowledge the wider body of evidence showing that the vaccines are safe and effective. https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/article-by-cardiologist-aseem-malhotra-made-unsupported-claims-about-benefits-risks-covid-19-vaccination/ COVID-19 Vaccine Benefits Outweigh Small Risks, Contrary to Flawed Claim From U.K. Cardiologist Dozens of studies support the use of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, which have a good safety profile and work well in preventing severe disease and death. Yet, citing a single, flawed paper, a British cardiologist known for peddling misinformation has misleadingly argued that the shots are harmful and “should never have been approved.” https://www.factcheck.org/2023/05/scicheck-covid-19-vaccine-benefits-outweigh-small-risks-contrary-to-flawed-claim-from-u-k-cardiologist/ etc etc etc.

I've often thought that Thailand would be better off if.... --the police generals were left to run the airports.... --and the aviation professionals were left to run the Royal Thai Police!

Just bought a new one for home, after my old one of 4-5 years finally gave up the ghost... These are the two models I've used and endorse (just endorsing the models, not where to buy them): Sndway SW-825 https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832640444351.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt AND Dienmern DM103 https://www.lazada.co.th/products/pm25-dienmern-3-in-1-i4545601219-s18494901078.html

Just coronate him now as King and Grifter for Life Trump.... And then when he eventually kicks it, Don Jr. can be named the new King of the U.S., followed by Barron thereafter. King Trump I, II, III, etc. No need for "fake" elections. [ Where's that presidentially directed Seal Team now??? ]

You'll remember that past governments had the bright ideas of installing big water spraying hoses on the ground in areas of Bangkok to spray water in the air... AND installing some supposed big air purifier device I wanna say around CentralWorld to supposedly suck up local air pollution.... AND I think some of them even did talk about installing big fans on the tops of tall buildings at one point.... AND flying a dozen or so drones carrying sprayer tanks of some liquid stuff that supposedly would take pollutants out of the air..... Words fail....

There have been lots of studies in the real world identifying and confirming the harmful health effects from PM2.5 pollution. It's not PM2.5 pollution that directly kills you. It's PM2.5 pollution that CAUSES higher levels of heart attacks, cardiovascular disease, lung problems, etc... and those are the things that end up killing people. "Long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution particles can affect lung function and worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Scientific studies have linked increases in daily PM2.5 exposure with increased respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions, emergency department visits and deaths. Studies also suggest that long-term exposure to fine particulate matter may be associated with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease." https://thethaiger.com/news/national/report-attributes-32000-premature-deaths-in-thailand-to-air-pollution

I'd like to see some credible scientific research that confirms the notion that drinking tea or capsules of any of the above referenced herbals does anything significant to combat the health related symptoms of PM2.5 air pollution exposure. IMHO, there's a reason that these kinds of local "treatments" never make their way out into the developed world of science and medicine.... And it's probably for the same reasons that flood control agencies around the world aren't using boats and their propellers in rivers to prevent local flooding, and doctors aren't advising their patients to wear amulets to ward off evil spirits.

There have been past reports estimating that PM2.5 pollution in Thailand is responsible for more than 30,000 deaths per year. Air pollution responsible for 29,000 deaths across 31 Thai provinces in 2021— Greenpeace "Bangkok– PM2.5 air pollution was behind approximately 29,000 deaths in Thailand in 2021, according to a Greenpeace Southeast Asia analysis of IQAir data. [1] The number of air pollution-related deaths per capita in Thailand last year exceeded those from road accidents, drug use and homicide combined, the report finds." https://www.greenpeace.org/southeastasia/press/45425/air-pollution-responsible-for-29000-deaths-across-31-thai-provinces-in-2021-greenpeace/ Report attributes 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand to air pollution "According to the State of Global Air 2020 Report, around 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand, back in 2019, have been attributed to air pollution. The report cites the PM2.5 pollution particles as the main culprit as particles in that size range are the most likely to travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. Exposure to these fine particles can cause short-term health effects, such as eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose and shortness of breath. But the long-term effects of being exposed to the particles is much more sinister." https://thethaiger.com/news/national/report-attributes-32000-premature-deaths-in-thailand-to-air-pollution

The past research on this involving Bangkok has shown that the PM2.5 pollution here varies by season. During the historically worst times of the year -- December to March or so, the predominant elements are from agricultural burning (both locally and cross-border), then along with lesser contributions from vehicle exhaust, industrial plants and other sources, including things like construction activity and even temple crematoriums. During the rest of the year, including the rainy season times, the agricultural burning element is less...and vehicle emissions play a larger role... but the overall pollution levels are lower. "The CMB results showed consistent important source factors at both sites of biomass OB, diesel vehicles, secondary inorganic PM and industry. The biomass OB contribution was the most dominant in the dry season while the vehicle emission was most dominant in the wet season. In dry period, at PCD, the most important contributors to PM2.5 were biomass burning (35%), and diesel vehicles (21%) and those at AIT were also biomass burning (36%), diesel vehicles (26%), inorganic secondary PM (15%) and industry (5%). In the wet period, at PCD, the most important contributors to PM2.5 were diesel vehicles (28%), biomass burning (26%) and inorganic secondary PM (21%)." https://www.jica.go.jp/Resource/jica-ri/publication/booksandreports/l75nbg00000kjwkk-att/Final_report.pdf

Because... 1: even though COVID deaths among young people are relatively rare, COVID even now is still causing a lot of hospitalizations and health problems among the young... example from the U.S. last September: "a new analysis of federal data from the American Academy of Pediatrics showed hospital admissions among children are rising faster than average. Nearly 1,200 children were admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 during the week ending September 9, marking a five-fold increase over the past three months. Hospitalizations among adults increased about three-fold in that same time period. Admissions among children remain below previous pandemic peaks. There were about 1,800 new pediatric admissions in a week at the height of last winter’s wave, and more than 6,500 weekly admissions during Omicron, the AAP analysis shows. Children accounted for 6% of all Covid-19 hospital admissions during the week ending September 9, federal data shows. And children under 5 were the most at risk, with about half of all pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations among those younger than 5, according to the AAP analysis." https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/22/health/covid-hospitalizations-seniors-kids-vaccines/index.html And 2: the history of vaccines over decades has shown that any vaccine related side effects happen shortly after vaccination -- not many months or years later. So experts in the field discount the anti-vaxer claims about some potential future harms. Plus right now, we're already three-plus years into the global COVID vaccination program with more than 12 billion total doses administered. 5 Reasons We Know The COVID-19 Vaccines Don't Have Long-Term Health Effects "“The only long-term effect of the COVID-19 vaccines is survival,” says Dr. Cunningham. “There are no adverse long-term effects to worry about. Contracting COVID-19, however, can leave you with lingering health problems.” ... 1. History has showed us that with vaccines, adverse effects occur within eight weeks of vaccination—not years later. ... Neither mRNA technology—nor viral vector technology—is new. ... The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were created using messenger RNA (or mRNA) technology, which has been used for about 10 years in cancer treatment, with no long-term effects detected." https://www.henryford.com/blog/2022/02/5-reasons-we-know-the-covid-vaccines-dont-have-longterm-effects

Here's some additional info on that... The good news is, the government after being quiet on COVID vaccines for quite a long while recently, has just begun promoting details their availability in Bangkok since the start of the new year. The offering below involving local public health centers is for every Wednesday. The bad news is, unfortunately, the vaccine they're offering is, as the graphic below indicates, the older Pfizer bivalent version, and not the newer Pfizer or Moderna monovalent vaccines launched in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere last fall that target the newer XBB-heritage variants. For expats, as long as you can show you're a long-term resident here and not a tourist (such as via a pink card or visa/extension stamp in your passport), then there should be no charge under the government's program. I've reached out to several agencies here lately on the issue of when/if Thailand, either the government or private hospitals, are going to source the newer vaccines... And so far, the answers have been silence. Source link Here's a translation of another one of the Bangkok recent announcements: " From January 2024 onwards🔴 Where is a good place to get the COVID-19 vaccine? Public Health Service Center, Department of Health invites you to get vaccinated against Covid 19💉 We accept walk-ins every Wednesday, except public holidays. Time 09.00 - 15.00 hrs. at 69 public health service centers For more information, call 0 2203 2883 during business days and times"

In general at BKK CW, once you get a new passport, they want your next 90 day report to be IN PERSON. And then once you've done that, the future ones can then be done online again. Last time around I had a new passport last year, I was first rejected for online. Then tried doing a mail-in, and got a response that wasn't acceptable, and was required to go to BKK CW in person.

I realize many in Thailand have an abiding belief in a variety of supposed protective elements including things like wearing amulets... But when it comes to protecting against PM2.5 fine particle air pollution that can cause health harms because the pollution particles enter directly into the blood stream.... I'd put the OP's herbal recommendations down into the category of hokum pokum nonsense. If someone really wants to protect against PM2.5, the answer is to keep it out of your lungs and body in the first place by wearing things like N95 respirator face masks and running HEPA air purifiers at home.

Some caveats of the study cited in the prior post: 1. their assumptions based on the seasonality of COVID weren't based on COVID itself, but instead, on the trends of OTHER non-COVID coronaviruses "(using the average incidence of endemic human beta-coronaviruses in Sweden over a 10-year period as a proxy)" Hmmm.... "These four coronaviruses (two alpha-coronaviruses and two beta-coronaviruses) have been suggested to be responsible for 10–15% of “common cold” cases and demonstrate a strong seasonality. Given that COVID-19 is caused by a human beta-coronavirus, we suggest that, if it also has a seasonal component, it might be similar to the seasonality of these endemic beta-coronaviruses (HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1). [emphasis added] 2. And then, as their own conclusion section notes: "our results should be interpreted in light of the possibility of the so-called “ecological fallacy”. That is, the results at a population level for each of the six countries might potentially mask significant effects at an individual level."

That's going to be bad for business, tourism and otherwise.... :-) Who's gonna shine those poles once they get just a few years older?

I've used all varieties of Fire TV boxes and sticks in Thailand for many years, and have never had any wifi problems with them. With the sticks, they each come with an HDMI extender cord to move the stick a bit further away from the TV's HDMI slot, wherever it may be on a given TV. Also, each TV is different, some TVs have their HDMI slots on the rear... Others have them on the right or left edges of the TV cabinet. Also, non-techie folks may not be aware that with Amazon Fire Sticks, you also have the option to buy an inexpensive OTG cable add-on that would allow you to connect the stick via Ethernet (assuming you have a connection available nearby) instead of wifi.

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Jan. 7 - 13, 2024: --625 new COVID hospitalizations, down 39 from the prior week --7 new COVID deaths, up 3 from prior week --177 COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition, up 33 from the prior week --125 COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation to breathe, up 36 from the prior week https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

1. Rats are not people...as the authors of this study themselves concede, saying: "It's imperative to recognize the limitations of our research, given that it relies on animal models. Caution should be exercised in generalizing these results to humans. Further rigorous clinical studies are required to confirm these observations in human populations and to ascertain the exact mechanisms at play." 2. Claims that vaccines cause autism or autism like disorders have long been a standard and discredited claim of anti-vax activists... False Claim About Cause of Autism Highlighted on Pennsylvania Senate Panel July 21, 2023 "Studies have found the rate of autism is the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated children. But the false claim that vaccines are associated with the disorder persists." ... " the false claim about vaccination and autism has been circulating since 1998, when a since-retracted paper wrongly suggested the MMR vaccine was linked to autism. Data presented in the paper were later found to be fabricated. The General Medical Council in the United Kingdom stripped the lead author of his ability to practice medicine for his dishonesty and irresponsibility in the paper. But the baseless claim has remained." https://www.factcheck.org/2023/07/scicheck-false-claim-about-cause-of-autism-highlighted-on-pennsylvania-senate-panel/ American Academy of Pediatrics: What to know about vaccines The child and adolescent immunization schedule is a policy that is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Like all AAP policies, it is developed based on expert review of all available evidence. As a parent, you can be reassured to know that there have been hundreds of large-scale studies around the world on vaccine safety during the past few decades. They demonstrate that: Recommended vaccines are safe for children and teens. Vaccines are not associated with conditions like diabetes or problems with fertility. Vaccines are not associated with autism or developmental delay." https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/Pages/Vaccine-Studies-Examine-the-Evidence.aspx As per the "neonatal" element of the OP research, the U.S. CDC also has judged that COVID vaccines are both safe and effective if administered during pregnancy, both for the mother and the unborn child. COVID-19 Vaccines While Pregnant or Breastfeeding Updated Nov. 3, 2023 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/pregnancy.html

Just asking, where's the beef? Let's see whatever evidence, proof, medical findings they claim to have.

I'm not making the claims... They are.... I look forward to them actually documenting and proving their claims for their peers to read and judge in some medical/public health journal setting -- which is the way such things are normally vetted.

You think popping up in a Bangkok Post article with mostly vague and unsourced claims is OK and consequence-free, but somehow the normal route of publishing in a medical journal detailing their findings for their peers to read and judge is going to have dire consequences?

There are certain potential side effects of COVID vaccines that have been well documented by researchers / health authorities around the world, although all the available evidence thus far says those are VERY rare and the risks of those are far, far exceeded by the risks from COVID. Since the vaccines became available in late 2020, more than 12 BILLION doses have been administered around the world. If something more problematic were occurring with them, you wouldn't necessarily expect the notion of that to surface out of the blue three-plus years later from two doctors in Thailand. If something is going on, have the Thai doctors involved written up their findings for medical journal review and publication (no mention of that in the BP article)? And what's the evidence, if any, for their claim that some unstated / unknown parties are allegedly suppressing some kind of problematic findings?

Well, I guess that means you didn't know somewhere between 7 million people (the official count) and 27 million people (the estimated potential direct and indirect count) who lost their lives because of COVID since 2020: "in many low- and middle-income countries, undercounting of mortality is a serious issue. The UN estimates that, in “normal” times, only two-thirds of countries register at least 90% of all deaths that occur, and some countries register less than 50% — or even under 10% — of deaths. During the pandemic the actual coverage might be even lower.11 ... "the overall conclusion remains clear: in many countries and globally, the number of confirmed deaths from COVID-19 is far below the pandemic’s full death toll." https://ourworldindata.org/excess-mortality-covid

Since you're so concerned about how your taxes are spent, maybe you ought to reconsider what you believe in: Report: COVID-19 vaccines saved US $1.15 trillion