chang1

At least the snobs here whose mummy and daddy were too mean to let them go and enjoy backpacking will be pleased, I guess. They won't be feeling so jealous and have to make as many derogatory remarks to feel superior.

At least they got one right! Hostels - not relevant to many countries with cheap guest houses like Thailand. Volunteering - not an issue for most. Safety - the young are indestructible (at least they think so). Beer - the lubricant of a good time, essential.

I answered that question in my next post.

Of course I understand that. As you say it helps, it doesn't stop.

How do you know the deaths weren't reported? Blood clots are common so not just caused by vaccines. The way they can be connected is if there is a correlation between the number of people being vaccinated and the number of people experiencing say blood clots. People suffering with covid19 are also at a higher risk of blood clots and separating them from vaccine induced blood clots is hard. Just because someone is vaccinated doesn't mean they don't have covid19. Instead of just concentrating on possible side effects you need to have a more balanced view by also looking at how vaccines are doing a fantastic job at saving lives and reducing hospitalisation. Millions of lives have been saved and the ones most at risk now are the unvaccinated. They are the ones clogging up hospitals despite being in a minority. Of course they don't seem bothered that they might stop other people getting treatment for things like cancer. My brother died from cancer that was not treated in time last year. I am not blaming antivaxxers in any way as the rollout was still in progress. However if it happened now I may have a different view. I am all for vaccine passports when needed but if Omicron is so prevalent there should be enough herd immunity to make them unnecessary for a while. You are delusional if you think governments need QR codes to track you. Mobile phones, Internet usage, credit cards, ANPR cameras etc can do that job far better. This kind of thing has been said for many years and still nothing has happened. If I lived in China then I would be worried but as we all know there is nothing the Chinese can do to stop the ccp controlling its citizens. Use your vote wisely it is our best defense.

All depends on his definition of long term. I don't know how long the protection lasts but it will vary between different people, which variant they caught and the variant they subsequently get exposed to. One thing for sure though is they will need boosters. Boosters cut the infection rate by helping people get over their infection quicker so less likely to spread the virus or end up in hospital.

So true it's never ending. The distinction I would draw is costs and how easy prevention is in relation to the risk. Fat - We already have a sugar tax which penalises everyone. It would be hard to target fat people and the PC squad would veto any attempt to anyway. Fat is a hard one to solve due to so many variables. Smoking - no - as it is taxed enough to cover the costs already. Passive smoking is the real problem and littering. Sport - no - because it also has health benefits so probably evens out. Female - no - because they have no option. Would you rather pay for an abortion or all the expenses of a child in care? Also a man was involved at the conception anyway. Refugees - true refugees who go back when safe - no. The economic migrants coming from France, we are plagued with, should be sent straight back to France as soon as they are found. One relevant to Thailand - those who refuse to wear seat belts in cars or helmets on bikes - they are putting themselves and others in danger - 100%. Antivaxxers - 100% - they are deliberately putting themselves and others, at great risk without any real evidence to support their claims. Maybe forcing them to buy health insurance would be a better option as the expense is taken no matter what instead of them thinking it is worth taking the risk.

It has already overloaded the NHS. In some places the army has been brought in to help out. Over 200000 new cases a day here and over 300000 a day in France. Vaccination is the way out. 60% in hospital with covid are unvaccinated out of a population with only 10% unvaccinated. 90% in hospital have not had their 3rd dose. Singapore makes the unvaccinated pay for their hospital treatment which I think should be brought in here. The threat of having to sell their house to pay for treatment may concentrate the minds of antivaxers. Why should I pay for treating them?

Vaccines don't stop you getting covid19, they greatly reduce how it affects you. In the UK 90% of those in hospital have been vaccinated but not had the booster, 60% are unvaccinated out of a population with 10% unvaccinated.

In other words - no I know someone who crashed their van after being vaccinated. Doesn't mean they are connected in any way. Being several times over the alcohol limit was probably more the problem. Being vaccinated doesn't stop all other health issues. I have not seen any side effects of vaccines in people I know so that proves my point 100%. Where are the facts and figures? As your anecdotal observations are hardly proof of anything - those people could have had all the same symptoms even if they were unvaccinated. Also bear in mind people who have been observing covid restrictions have been kept away from other diseases so will be more susceptible to them as restrictions are lifted. PS. I don't dislike you at all. I just want to get at the truth. Vaccines may be a disaster yet to be found but so far I have not seen any proof of that. They will never be perfect and there will be some worse off by being vaccinated but overall the evidence is that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages and they work much better than most thought was possible.

Most countries only lockdown if their health system is at risk of being overloaded. For example the UK is being prepared for upto 25% of health workers self isolating. Couple that with hospitals that are normally busy in the winter having large numbers of hospitalised Omicron cases and you will see why restrictions can't be ruled out. Vaccinations are the best way to keep things normal but we all know how slow some are to get that message. An anti vaxer friend of my father has been laid up in bed for 2 weeks now but "it's not covid". He refuses to take a test as he doesn't believe in them! This is how brainwashed some of them are. It's OK to not trust vaccines or think covid19 is a lie but when you have a chance to get some personal proof that you are wrong, why would you avoid it? Deniers need to think more critically.

Has this actually been proven to have happened to anyone? Sounds like anti vaxer BS to me.

If you catch and survive covid it is going to give some temporary protection but it will weaken over time so no getting around the need for boosters. On the other hand a policy of spreading a very weak but highly transmissible strain now and then may be easier than using vaccines. A bit science fiction at the moment but in a hundred years or so definitely a possibility. I should patent that idea.

True - but...

This may be what commonly happens but I doubt it is certain. Viruses mutate all the time most can't replicate some can but are easily overcome by our defenses then the odd one will become transmissible it may be more contagious or it may be more dangerous when contracted. It's survival of the fittest strain but there is nothing to stop it mutating to be more easily spread and more dangerous at the same time just far rarer. Being vaccinated greatly reduces the chance of you giving covid a chance to develop a new strain. If you end up infected in hospital for a long time, Covid has a much greater number of chances to mutate as well as a nice environment to spread in. Of course the anti vaxers would never understand this and would say it is their god given right to go out and multiply (the number of variants). They are too brainwashed to understand that being vaccinated doesn't just help them it can potentially save thousands of lives. This is also why giving vaccines to poor countries is good for everyone - was the person that omicron came from in Africa vaccinated? I doubt it.

"Looks like there is nomore Delta?" Your not looking hard enough - of course delta is still around, just less cases than omicron. "if you test Covid positive and ask which variant you have they cannot answer" - Just because they don't tell you doesn't mean they don't test which strain you have. Thailand was put on the UKs red list earlier this year because it was not testing enough for which strains were circulating meaning if a new strain started it would get a hold before it was discovered. "how they detect if you catch the Omicron??" I'm not sure but I think it's some kind of DNA sequencing.

Doesn't say much for the other choices on the survey.

Thanks. I should have used quotation marks but lier is unforgivable even if it was about 4 in the morning.

Sorry for wording that poorly. I was more thinking of long established countries that have a majority of native citizens. Places like the US or New Zealand would be much more used to immigration as the majority are descended from immigrants. I would expect a correlation between how long a country has been established, how diverse the population is and how accepting the people are of immigrants. In my lifetime I have seen how immigration has changed my country (England). It now feels like a foreign country with different languages everywhere you go. Having to tip toe around incase we offend someone and constant positive racism with its token foreigner everywhere you look. If I do ever retire to Thailand, I would never EXPECT my hosts to treat me special in any way. They can call me farang or pale face all day long. They have their culture and I chose to come. All I ask is to treated fairly. I don't expect citizenship and would just leave if my hosts either wanted me to or I felt too uncomfortable. I don't have a problem with someone being racist to me. I either work with it or around it. As for the type of overt discrimination and violence directed at immigrants, that is disgusting and should be stood up to everytime.

First we need to define racism. We all make judgments about people based on how they look, sound and act to decide how to interact with them. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this as we can then adjust our behaviour and be more empathetic with their culture. Racism has been mixed up with the totally different act of being prejudiced in a negative way. Although racism is pre judging people, it doesn't have to be in a bad way or xenophobic. Positive racism is also a thing which can be counter productive. People being given an unfair advantage is resented either way. Education, equality and respect are the way forward and progress is being made around the world but Thailand has a long way to go. Then there is the question that no western politician would ever be able to ask - would Thais (or insert country of your choice) be happier if there where a minimal amount of foreigners in the country or should the borders be relaxed? How someone answers that question is more of an indicator of racism - I, like most people, am racist.

Don't whince just call them a lier as we are all racist - nothing to do with politics.

You missed out education and opportunity, these are what allow the rest to flourish. I was thinking more about the individuals involved rather than their countries history and how it shaped their culture. We were all cavemen and only relatively recently has education changed how we live. I can't explain why countries develop in different ways as it is a huge subject but we can all see the different opportunities available to people in our own country yet alone other countries.

Opinions that can't be backed up are worthless. Unfortunately, many people believe worthless Opinions especially when repeated enough times. This is why so much rubbish is put out about covid on YouTube. If more people scrutinised what they were being told and dug Into the facts and sources they would have a much more accurate view of things. Trump was a master at telling people what they wanted to hear without any facts to back up his claims. By the time the facts get out the debate has moved on. Biden on the other hand fails at it miserably - saying things like GM is leading the change to EVs when everyone knows it is Tesla means no-one will ever take him seriously as the facts are so obvious.

Assuming you are in Thailand, why would you not take some basic safety precautions in one of the most dangerous countries to drive in? Don't you like living and not having to feed through a straw? The police are the least of my worries there. Compared to here in the UK, Thai roads are horrendous. I have seen what they do to people. During almost every trip, I hear of someone I know who has been hospitalized and one who was killed. I had 2 years off work when my bus driver fell asleep at the wheel and turned the bus over onto its roof crushing my leg. A few feet further over and I would have drowned in the water we stopped in. How can you say you never caught any of those diseases? I can just as easily say the same, as I have never (knowingly) had covid. Vaccines prime your immune system to quickly react when you get infected. This means you may never know if you caught them or not as vaccines don't do anything until you actually do catch the disease. Helmets, seat belts and Vaccines are all preventative measures they don't stop things happening or rebuild you if things do happen. They all prevent or reduce the harm to yours and/or other people's bodies. In what way do you disagree with my "no vaccine blah blah"? And why? If you can give me some good information I'm perfectly willing to consider it but I warn you many have tried giving me stupid information before and then don't like hearing the truth. Normally they quote something that is based on facts which are then extrapolated into complete nonsense.

Sorry to burst your bubble but palefaced people can be every bit as bad. Maybe a smaller percentage of them though which probably varies depending on which country they are from. Also you need to take into account what resources people came with such as money and their education. I doubt crime is a career choice. More likely the only way to survive here. Skin colour is not a good way to judge someone's character but when combined with local knowledge can help. How many of us would be more wary if approached by an African in that area than a paleface? Totally racist I know but it is reality given the reputation of that area.