Thailand finds first local cases of South African COVID-19 variant, scientists say

[rtco]

6 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

Thai officials have always said the borders were a problem

There only a problem if you let them be e.g. the border officials are on the take

[SunsetT]

8 hours ago, cclub75 said:

But we were told that the quarantine system for all the dirty foreigners was ironclad ?

 

Well... not. The reality is that the virus finds always its way.

 

The variant has not entered through the "quarantine system  of all the dirty foreigners" which has proved itself to be very efficient. As previously it has entered through ILLEGAL migration......

 

"In Thailand, the variant was identified in three test samples from a cluster of infections that could be linked to ILLEGAL MIGRATION in the south of the country,"

 

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by SunsetT

[howbri]

8 hours ago, redwood1 said:

The lockdows should continue until there are zero more diseases (all of them) including cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and covid...

well said.

[metisdead]

A post with false and misleading information regarding the Worldometers website has been removed as well as the replies. 

[Ty Hareways]

8 hours ago, cclub75 said:

But we were told that the quarantine system for all the dirty foreigners was ironclad ?

 

Well... not. The reality is that the virus finds always its way.

 

Thailand is not an island.

 

So i guess now we have all of them (the famous "variants")... so perhaps we can cool down and learn how to live with all thoses terribles virus...

 

The Zero Covid ideology is hurting us.

Always refreshing to see when someone speaks sense. Well observed cclub ????????????????????????????

[placnx]

6 hours ago, sagra said:

It’s quite true. “Two doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine were found to have only a 10.4% efficacy against mild-to-moderate infections caused by the B.1.351 South Africa variant, according to a phase 1b-2 clinical trial published on Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is a cause for grave concern as the South African variants share similar mutations to the other variants leaving those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine potentially exposed to multiple variants. This new finding should force a rapid acceleration of second-generation vaccines and encourage further research into the possibility of a pancoronavirus vaccine.      ”

There are 200 or so vaccines in development, so let's hope that something good can get to EUA soon. Some time ago AstraZeneca/Oxford should have been developing a redo for production at their many sites in the world so that people can be protected from the South African variant. It just seems that the AstraZeneca/Oxford group are fumble prone. Let's hope that they are doing on-the-ground supervision of the production process all over the place. Otherwise, further hesitancy could result.

[ftpjtm]

5 hours ago, Blumpie said:

I know how frustrating this is - unfortunately thailand dropped the ball ordering vaccines.

What we need is a global effort to pump as many out as fast as possible yesterday.  It feels like now you can order billions of doses but they aren't going to show up anytime soon.  

There's a program called COVAX doing exactly that. 

 

But the boys in charge couldn't come up with a way to profit off of it so were the only ASEAN nation not to join. 

[SunsetT]

17 minutes ago, Ty Hareways said:

Always refreshing to see when someone speaks sense. Well observed cclub ????????????????????????????

I repeat.....There is no evidence to suggest that this variant or any other has entered through the Thai quarantine system for "all dirty foreigners" which has proved itself to be very efficient. 

 

Also we must not forget that a 'variant', the South African or otherwise can appear anywhere anytime through the mutation of existing domestic original versions  of the virus. It does not have to have entered from outside. Variants get labeled 'South African', 'Indian', 'UK', etc., because that is where they were 1st detected, but they might have already been in existence unnoticed elsewhere especially in countries where little testing is/was being carried out. The same or similar variants can appear through mutation anywhere anytime. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by SunsetT

[robsamui]

1 hour ago, SunsetT said:

The variant has not entered through the "quarantine system  of all the dirty foreigners" which has proved itself to be very efficient. As previously it has entered through ILLEGAL migration......

 

"In Thailand, the variant was identified in three test samples from a cluster of infections that could be linked to ILLEGAL MIGRATION in the south of the country,"

 

 

What -  a steady stream of Thais sneaking out of Thailand?

Novel.

Edited May 23, 2021 by robsamui

[4MyEgo]

6 hours ago, Guderian said:

The latest news from the UK is that the vaccines DO protect you from both the South African and Indian strains. So what is Prayut waiting for, stop fantasising over the Phuket sandbox and having wet dreams about submarines, and get moving on the vaccine rollout.

 

Care to provide the link, from what I read is that in trials for their booster, not yet released, it appears to have pleasing results.

 

The only vaccine that I am aware of that works against the South African variant is the Jansen and Jansen vaccine, but things do change all the time and others might also work against it, so am open to hear of any other vaccines that might work against this variant.

 

https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/pharma/astrazeneca-likely-to-have-covid-19-vaccine-against-south-african-variant-by-2021-end/story/436949.html

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2021/03/17/astrazeneca-vaccine-fails-to-protect-against-the-south-african-variant/?sh=1958ee176526

 

https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/pharma/astrazeneca-likely-to-have-covid-19-vaccine-against-south-african-variant-by-2021-end/story/436949.html

Edited May 23, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[the green light]

I do not understand the June  date  for the start of the massive vaccination effort. May be  - there is not enough vaccines ordered yet for every one.

 

It is too late for a lockdown. The virus is now locally in Thailand. Mask  or social distancing are not effective since this virus is airborne

 

Reality--The infection and death  numbers will be in that high range for a while until the vaccination program is rolled out.

 

 

 

[goatfarmer]

7 hours ago, brommers said:

The medical authorities are staying quiet for one good reason. They are waiting for the Czar to admit that the AstraZeneca vaccine is ineffective against the S African variant. This was proven in S Africa months ago and their government immediately deleted the vaccine from their national plan. They are now already vaccinating their general public with imported Pfizer vaccine and in 4 months built a production plant that is turning out millions of doses of J&J. Meanwhile Thailand is whistling in the dark waiting for a vaccine that offers no protection against a variant that is already in the wild and spreading amongst the Thai population. Is there a  light at the end of the tunnel or is it the sun shining out of a certain someone's ass?

"This was proven in S Africa months ago"
Was it? 

From SMH, May 10th.

 

Concern about that variant reached fever pitch when researchers published a study in March suggesting AstraZeneca’s vaccine offered no protection against catching it. But that small study was more suggestive than conclusive, and researchers are still waiting for better data to come in.

[SunsetT]

1 hour ago, robsamui said:

What -  a steady stream of Thais sneaking out of Thailand?

Novel.

555...Ok thanks....should have been immigration...

.....I was using the same wording in the original article: "illegal migration in the south of the country" meaning, of course, migration from Malaysia.

Edited May 23, 2021 by SunsetT

[goatfarmer]

7 hours ago, sagra said:

It’s quite true. “Two doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine were found to have only a 10.4% efficacy against mild-to-moderate infections caused by the B.1.351 South Africa variant, according to a phase 1b-2 clinical trial published on Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. This is a cause for grave concern as the South African variants share similar mutations to the other variants leaving those vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine potentially exposed to multiple variants. This new finding should force a rapid acceleration of second-generation vaccines and encourage further research into the possibility of a pancoronavirus vaccine.      ”

"There were no cases of hospitalization for severe Covid-19 observed in the study. ...The trial findings are inconclusive with respect to whether the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine may protect against severe Covid-19 caused by infection with the B.1.351 variant."

 

I think most of us are concerned about severe disease. Let's save our grave concern for when we have more relevant data.

[the green light]

2 hours ago, fleccer said:

Yes, I know, but Thailand is not Dubai or Singapore. Thailand is structured for mass tourism as it always has been. And the queues of those queuing for food are a consequence of the lack of tourists. Elite tourism alone won't be enough. Those who have the money will increasingly be a small minority and I don't see why they should choose Thailand as a tourist resort among a large of opportunities world

Wealthy tourists  have a list of places with amenities to visit . When thinking of what Thailand has to offer : weather , cheap place to visit, relaxed infrastructures, nice beaches in Asia, and most important lovely ladies for entertainment, and more...

Not counting the expensive airfare coming to thailand, Thailand fits well the travelers who want to stretch his money for a vacation 

 

for rich travelers  , money is not important . They can get all these amenities and better  anywhere in the world. Thailand is not on their list. With so many Thai restrictions and relaxed rules in other countries,  probably they will avoid Thailand this year.

 

Thailand  is best to attract the average tourists by : vaccinate  quickly the population, eliminate the quarantine and  health insurance, drop the evaluation of the Baht ..Until that happened the tourism industry will not recover.

 

 

[metisdead]

A post with a link to an unapproved social media site and a reply has been removed. 

 

An offensive post has been removed. 

[Nanaplaza666]

8 hours ago, brommers said:

The medical authorities are staying quiet for one good reason. They are waiting for the Czar to admit that the AstraZeneca vaccine is ineffective against the S African variant. This was proven in S Africa months ago and their government immediately deleted the vaccine from their national plan. They are now already vaccinating their general public with imported Pfizer vaccine and in 4 months built a production plant that is turning out millions of doses of J&J. Meanwhile Thailand is whistling in the dark waiting for a vaccine that offers no protection against a variant that is already in the wild and spreading amongst the Thai population. Is there a  light at the end of the tunnel or is it the sun shining out of a certain someone's ass?

There is a light at the end of the tunnel , but it's an oncomming train . 

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

There is a light at the end of the tunnel , but it's an oncomming train . 

How many locomotives and how many pushers or is it a bullet train.

[Nanaplaza666]

Just now, ThailandRyan said:

How many locomotives and how many pushers or is it a bullet train.

A chinese bullet train driven by Prayut . 

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

A chinese bullet train driven by Prayut . 

Oh so it will be submarining under the country to get to the bunker, nuclear reaction imminent by Prayut at the next press briefing he gives.

[Nanaplaza666]

5 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Oh so it will be submarining under the country to get to the bunker, nuclear reaction imminent by Prayut at the next press briefing he gives.

Could be a locomotife driven by Prayut and Anutin shuffling coal . 

[fleccer]

8 minutes ago, the green light said:

Wealthy tourists  have a list of places with amenities to visit . When thinking of what Thailand has to offer : weather , cheap place to visit, relaxed infrastructures, nice beaches in Asia, and most important lovely ladies for entertainment, and more...

Not counting the expensive airfare coming to thailand, Thailand fits well the travelers who want to stretch his money for a vacation 

 

A type of offer suitable for the middle class, exactly what I meant in my previous post. But since the middle class is the one most affected by this crisis, no tourists will be see for long time.

[placeholder]

3 minutes ago, fleccer said:

A type of offer suitable for the middle class, exactly what I meant in my previous post. But since the middle class is the one most affected by this crisis, no tourists will be see for long time.

Actually savings have increased and credit card debt has been paid down during the pandemic. There's a lot of pent-up demand in the developed economies.

[drenddy]

With this level of paranoia about all kinds of mutations, this country will never open up its borders. 

 

I was reading, Australian citizens support the idea of keeping the country closed until next year. 

 

Good luck. 

[raccos21]

First case it is just beginning.....

[MrJ2U]

"Thai health authorities did not immediately comment on the scientists’ findings."

 

It's Sunday, the government is closed.

[placnx]

3 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

There's a program called COVAX doing exactly that. 

 

But the boys in charge couldn't come up with a way to profit off of it so were the only ASEAN nation not to join. 

COVAXX is pathetically inadequate, but then there is not enough production capacity, either.

[placnx]

2 hours ago, goatfarmer said:

"There were no cases of hospitalization for severe Covid-19 observed in the study. ...The trial findings are inconclusive with respect to whether the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine may protect against severe Covid-19 caused by infection with the B.1.351 variant."

 

I think most of us are concerned about severe disease. Let's save our grave concern for when we have more relevant data.

Please consider that if a lot of people continue to get infected, though not getting very sick, they will probably pass the virus on to others, the same variant or maybe a new mutation that could be more infectious. So ultimately we should aim at using vaccines the block transmission as much as possible.

[goatfarmer]

38 minutes ago, placnx said:

Please consider that if a lot of people continue to get infected, though not getting very sick, they will probably pass the virus on to others, the same variant or maybe a new mutation that could be more infectious. So ultimately we should aim at using vaccines the block transmission as much as possible.

Without question.

[aboctok]

12 hours ago, itsari said:

Agree with your comments , however I would like the reference made to what country the variants are supposedly from banned. Just use the code given . There seems only one country that can be named with certainty is the Chinese covid 19 . 

You are, of course, free to call things wrong or mistaken as you see fit. But you want names you consider wrong to be banned? Lol.