TallGuyJohninBKK

The current COVID vaccines REDUCE the likelihood of a vaccinated person contracting the virus and thus spreading the virus... especially in the couple months post-vaccination. But they do a much better job of keeping people out of the hospital with COVID illness, and do so on a more enduring basis. Just like the flu vaccine reduces the risks of catching the flu, but doesn't provide 100% protection.

The original report I wrote to start this thread made it clear that the current levels of new COVID hospitalizations -- 500+ per week -- remain well below the 3,000+ per week peak in the wake of this year's Song Kran period. Context is important. But the original report also made it clear that the current numbers are the highest in the past 4+ months, and now have risen for 6 of the past 7 weeks... So there's definitely an upward trend occurring that warrants monitoring, and taking precautions as warranted.

You can find all the one death here and one death there vaccine-related cases the internet can provide... But add them all together, and they don't come up to a fraction of the lives saved by COVID vaccines. COVID vaccines saved at least 1 million lives in Europe, experts estimate April 18, 2023 "COVID-19 vaccination directly saved at least 1,004,927 lives across Europe from December 2020 to March 2023, according to new research presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) annual meeting this week in Copenhagen, Denmark. The study was based on weekly reported deaths and vaccination doses from 26 countries in Europe collected by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-vaccines-saved-least-1-million-lives-europe-experts-estimate

N95 masks are readily available to the public, not especially expensive, and are far more effective than the routine masks doctors wear in surgery. (Though doctors DO wear N95s when dealing with infectious patients or procedures likely to aerosolize stuff.) The regular surgical masks aren't designed or needed to prevent inhalation of viruses. They're intended, as you note, to protect the wearer against things like blood splatter and also to reduce the risk of the wearer spreading any germs they may have in the operating theater.

England and Wales, in the years since COVID vaccines were launched, have recorded a few dozen deaths confirmed as related to COVID vaccination out of tens of millions of doses given there... And the UK did worse than most because of its use of the AZ vaccine, which had rare, unexpected blood clotting problems and ultimately was discontinued in the UK (and never approved in the U.S.) https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/deathscausedbyvaccinesintheukin2023 But as balanced against that: "Work by the UK Health Security Agency and the University of Cambridge Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit suggests that roughly 127,500 deaths were prevented by the Covid vaccination programme in England, up to 24 September 2021." https://fullfact.org/health/covid-vaccines-saved-many-lives/ The research and results are clear -- the benefits from and lives saved by COVID vaccines VASTLY dwarfed the very rare instances of deaths or injuries related to vaccination.

You're talking about cheap drugstore paper masks... not the recommended and proven effective N95 and similar effective masks cited above. The cheap drugstore masks do help prevent people from spreading COVID by catching the particles from someone exhaling/coughing... But the N95 respirator masks, meanwhile, do the same in preventing spread but also are very effective in protecting the wearer from catching the virus by inhaling virus particles, since they provide a mostly air-tight seal around the face.

Proud of you for bravely ignoring the COVID vaccine guidance of virtually every major public health and medical organization around the world... “Given that COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to impact the U.S. population and an increase in infections is expected this fall and winter, the updated COVID-19 vaccines increase the immune response against the currently circulating variants,” said Sandra Fryhofer, MD, an Atlanta general internist and immediate past chair of the AMA Board of Trustees." https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/updated-covid-19-vaccine-here-what-physicians-need-know

Regardless of the above report, numerous studies have shown that the actual official counts of deaths due to COVID around the world have been UNDER counted.... not overcounted. Global COVID-19 Death Toll May Be Triple the Reported Deaths April 19, 2022 "More than 3 times as many people may have died around the world due to direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic than officially reported, according to an estimate of excess mortality by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington." https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2791213 AND Actual death figures are likely to be higher than confirmed deaths "What we know is the number of confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 to date. Limited testing and challenges in the attribution of the cause of death means that the number of confirmed deaths may not be an accurate count of the actual number of deaths from COVID-19." https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths

The key to the above report is the phrase at the end of the first paragraph -- "until an investigation is completed." And if you read the ensuing report, you'll see it explains: ""We will be now publicly reporting confirmed deaths as those where the death documents or an investigation has shown that the cause was COVID-19, and we will report other deaths where the cause of death is not certain but the person has COVID-19. We will report them separately, and the latter group will be classified as 'under investigation' while we await further information from clinicians or a coroner's follow-up." So, the article doesn't actually report how the man's death was classified in the end at the conclusion of the inquiry..... But given he died of a gunshot wound, it seems pretty clear that's where the end finding would have gone.

The documented injuries associated with COVID vaccines -- as opposed to loads of documented false info on the subject spread on the internet -- have been extraordinarily tiny, considering more than 12 BILLION doses have been administered worldwide... The lives saved and illnesses averted, on the other hand, have been huge: COVID vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say June 24, 2022 "Nearly 20 million lives were saved by COVID-19 vaccines during their first year, but even more deaths could have been prevented if international targets for the shots had been reached, researchers reported Thursday. ... The researchers used data from 185 countries to estimate that vaccines prevented 4.2 million COVID-19 deaths in India, 1.9 million in the United States, 1 million in Brazil, 631,000 in France and 507,000 in the United Kingdom. An additional 600,000 deaths would have been prevented if the World Health Organization target of 40% vaccination coverage by the end of 2021 had been met, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases." https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-england-54d29ae3af5c700f15d704c14ee224b5

"The central region will experience partly cloudy weather with 30% of the area expected to encounter thunderstorms. The temperature will fluctuate between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius at the lowest and 32 and 35 degrees Celsius at the highest." WOW, with high temperatures dropping to between 32 and 35 C in central areas like BKK, I guess I'm gonna have to break out the snow parkas for this supposed cold streak.

Your unsourced and unsubstantiated anti-masking claim notwithstanding, the science and research shows you're wrong: Face mask effectiveness: What science knows now October 29, 2023 "Linsey Marr, a Virginia Tech university professor specializing in aerosol science. "They are very helpful in reducing the chances that the person will get COVID because it's reducing the amount of virus that you would inhale from the air around you," Marr said about masks. No mask is 100% effective. An N95, for example, is named as such because it is at least 95% efficient at blocking airborne particles when used properly. But even if a mask has an 80% efficiency, Marr said, it still offers meaningful protection." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/face-mask-effectiveness-what-science-knows-now-60-minutes/ AND Masks During Pandemics Caused by Respiratory Pathogens—Evidence and Implications for Action October 31, 2023 " Well-designed observational studies have demonstrated the association of mask use with reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in community settings, and rigorous evaluations of mask mandates have found substantial protection." ... Conclusions and Relevance During the next epidemic or pandemic caused by a respiratory pathogen, decision-makers will need to rely on existing evidence as they implement interventions. High-quality studies have shown that use of face masks in the community is associated with reduced transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and is likely to be an important component of an effective response to a future respiratory threat." https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2811136

MoPH: "The DDC is working relentlessly to bring the situation under control, relying heavily on public cooperation in following the recommended preventative measures and getting vaccinated." Oh ya?? Then why has there been almost total silence from the Thai government on plans for making available the newer COVID vaccines designed to better protect against the latest circulating COVID virus variants? And, short of that, why lately has there been basically no public information available from MoPH at all about how / where these days to obtain even the older bivalent versions of the COVID vaccines for those who have no other option in Thailand? If anyone is "working relentlessly" at MoPH and DDC, they don't seem to be doing so for anything relating to the COVID vaccines that they're recommending the public get!

Thaiger notwithstanding, the latest news re rising COVID hospitalizations in Thailand (not just cases, per se, which they no longer report) is not a "sudden surge." It's a trend that's been growing and rising steadily for almost the past two months.

The U.S. tax returns have a section for "foreign taxes" paid. Every year, I enter into that section the Thai taxes that are deducted from my Thai bank accounts for interest earned here.... And that amount is then a credit on my U.S. return. If the Thai authorities were somehow to conclude that I owed them taxes on other funds I bring into Thailand each year, even though the U.S. and Thailand have a tax agreement against double taxation, presumably I'd enter any Thai tax paid there as well. and fyi, that done via doing my annual taxes via TurboTax online.

Email suggesting discharging hospital patients into residential care as Covid unfolded has prompted furious response "The head of the UK Heath Security Agency is facing a growing backlash after it emerged she suggested that discharging Covid-infected hospital patients to care homes would be “clinically appropriate” to protect the NHS from collapse. Care home providers and the families of those who died after contracting Covid while in residential care said the revelations confirmed their suspicions at the time, adding that it disproved the claim of ministers to have thrown a “protective ring” around the homes. ... Appearing at the inquiry last week, Harries – who has since been promoted to run the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and given a damehood – conceded that the email “sounded awful”. However, she had been taking “a very, very high-level view” of what would need to happen if the NHS was overwhelmed with an “enormous explosion of cases”. (more) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/02/she-sacrificed-care-home-residents-health-chief-jenny-harries-under-fire-after-uk-covid-inquiry-revelations

I'm sure the 536 Thai COVID cases newly hospitalized last week, and the 1,100+ COVID deaths and nearly 20,000 new COVID hospitalizations in the U.S. in a recent weekly tally, much appreciate you sentiments. For me, I've never yet been hospitalized in Thailand, and I'm continuing to do my best to keep it that way, especially being among the age 60+ more COVID vulnerable crowd.

It's your claim / "inkling", and thus your obligation to source and support it, and once again, you have none. In reality, the Thai government has been doing its best downplay and minimize the extent of COVID occurring in the country, if for no other reason than, drawing attention to it certainly has the potential to harm their efforts to revive lagging tourism. No news conferences or MoPH announcements about the rise in COVID hospitalizations. No articles in the local news sources updating on what's occurring here with the pandemic. And yet for some unexplained reason, you think they've suddenly increased COVID testing four years into the pandemic....and after they've already declared COVID as endemic and no longer a public health "emergency."

You have no basis and no source for asserting above that all the cases the Thai authorities report as "COVID hospitalizations" are just hospitalizations "with COVID". In current times, Thai hospitals aren't automatically COVID testing everyone who comes thru their doors. They're only COVID testing people, and finding actual cases, who present with symptoms that are characteristic of COVID. But even if what you claim were true, which it clearly isn't, a reasonable person would certainly have to wonder why the numbers of those COVID hospitalization cases have suddenly quadrupled over the past almost two months.

There's a big difference between "fear" and knowledge and awareness... I have no "fear" about COVID. But I certainly think knowledge and awareness of the facts of what's occurring in the world with COVID can and should help inform people's decisions and behaviors. But it's a typical COVID denialist and anti-vaxer ploy to wrongly try to portray knowledge and information as fear.

If nothing else, all of the above should serve as a reminder to everyone that denialists notwithstanding, COVID is continuing to circulate widely in the world and in Thailand... sickening many people still, especially the older populations, and fortunately killing some but fewer than in recent years. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7218a3.htm

In the U.S. right now, more than 1,100 people per week are dying with COVID as the main or contributing cause, along with nearly 20,000 new weekly COVID hospitalizations. In a country of about 330 million people, that tally of weekly COVID deaths amounts to 0.000003% of the population. Does that mean we should be unconcerned with the 1,100+ weekly COVID deaths and nearly 20,000 new weekly COVID hospitalizations? I wouldn't say that. Lives have value, period. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00 https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklyhospitaladmissions_select_00

There is some sharing of bank account details between the Thai government / banking system and other countries like the U.S. But I have no reason to think that currently extends to the details of ATM withdrawals made in Thailand using foreign debit cards, which are not part of the inter-country bank account info sharing that currently occurs. Also, when it comes to Thai bank ATM transactions occurring with foreign bank cards, those are mainly handled by the international card networks like VISA and MC, and not by the local Thai banks themselves. So it's not clear to me just how much, if any, detailed info the Thai banks keep on those kinds of transactions. And I think it unlikely the Thai banks have any ready ability, on a national scale, to trace particular foreign debit card transactions here back to individual bank account numbers in foreign countries. Especially since debit card numbers always are different that the actual bank account numbers they're linked to. International wire transfers, on the other hand, would be an entirely different matter, as the recipient Thai bank obviously would directly receive and know the sending bank account details for where the transaction originated.

By way of extension to the mindset of some posters here: "The US has been living in a "fantasy world" where people pretend COVID-19 is "not relevant," Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Task Force coordinator during the Trump administration, told ABC's "Start Here" podcast. "We wanted to make it like flu because that was easier, but it's never going to be like flu," Birx said, explaining that COVID-19 comes in more frequent waves, makes people sicker, kills more people and can have longer-term complications such as long COVID. "So let's just all agree it's not flu. It will never be flu." https://abc7chicago.com/covid-cases-2023-cdc-immunity-testing/13738857/

ya, it's just 500+ people per week now being hospitalized involving COVID in Thailand. No reason anyone should care about that.... And FWIW, people even in Thailand typically are not hospitalized (admitted as inpatients) for having "colds." And COVID is not a "cold" or even the flu. SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant more common, tied to more severe outcomes than flu, RSV October 28, 2023 "SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infections were more common and linked to more severe outcomes than influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in emergency department (ED) patients in Sweden, especially among those unvaccinated against COVID-19. ... Karolinska Institutet researchers assessed rates of 30-day all-cause death, hospitalization, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission of adults seen in six EDs in Stockholm County for Omicron, flu, or RSV infection ... Thirty-day death rates were 7.9% in the Omicron group, 2.5% in flu patients, and 6.0% in the RSV group." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/sars-cov-2-omicron-variant-more-common-tied-more-severe-outcomes-flu-rsv