8 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

I believe your Govt, banned Dutch persons from travelling to Thailand on holiday from yesterday. 

 

Certainly there will be more countries to follow.

 

Sandbox in tatters, economy devastated and the PM is blaming rule breakers for his own, and his government's total incompetence and failure. 

 

There is real trouble ahead, make no mistake. 

They say we can't travel there if not needed. But there are no restrictions. Just make up a reason and we can go. So its not a hard ban. But yes the warning was given yesterday.

9 minutes ago, grain said:

so what happened in India?

I posted graphs. I don’t know the details behind each one. You can google to find out more details on India.

8 minutes ago, smedly said:

India is still raging - it has also been widely reported that the death toll could be in 6 figures 

I think you mean 7 figures

Another post denigrating and calling Chinese vaccines useless and referring to it with derogatory names has been removed.

Whilst it may be less effective in certain cases ie Delta strain it is by no means useless.

 

At the end of the day this is a Thai government sponsored vaccine and the forum and or yourself can get in trouble for comments like this so stop it.

14 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Just curious... what's your basis for that info?  Just asking, because of course, the govt claims they set up all kinds of checkpoints along the highways into/out of BKK.

 

People can still travel between provinces, supposedly, if they've registered and/or have some legitimate reason to be doing so.

 

I think travelling to care for sick buffalo is one of the legit reasons.

26 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Not only was this vulnerable group here not prioritized for vaccination, they are now also being left to die.

Yup. It’s just logical progression. The government consciously chose this route when it did not prioritize the elderly for vaccination. A special mention for the TAT cheerleaders for the Sandbox foolishness.

 

there is still yet more logical progression to take place from the decisions taken over the last 3 months. It was always going to be a tough time, no doubt about that, and there will be no avoiding the consequences of decisions taken.

5 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I think travelling to care for sick buffalo is one of the legit reasons.

Having just completed the form as I'm travelling today, the "reasons for travel" field is "optional"!

7 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

I think you mean 7 figures

yes sorry - 6 zero's  #,000,000   

Quote

India is still raging - it has also been widely reported that the death toll could be in 6 figures 

 

 

 

Whoops ????

Source.

43 minutes ago, The Cipher said:

 

 

 

 

Whoops ????

Source.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/25/world/asia/india-covid-death-estimates.html

 

Just How Big Could India’s True Covid Toll Be?

 

"The official Covid-19 figures in India grossly understate the true scale of the pandemic in the country. Last week, India recorded the largest daily death toll for any country during the pandemic — a figure that is most likely still an undercount.

 

Even getting a clear picture of the total number of infections in India is hard because of poor record-keeping and a lack of widespread testing. Estimating the true number of deaths requires a second layer of extrapolation, depending on the share of those infected who end up dying."

 

Here's how the daily GROWTH in new cases has gone over the past week:

 

July 16 -- 9,692

July 17 -- 10,082  +390

July 18 -- 11,397  +1,315

July 19 -- 11,784  +387

July 20 -- 11,305  -479

July 21 -- 13,002  +1,697

July 22 -- 13,655  +653

July 23 -- 14,575  +920

 

 

18 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Having just completed the form as I'm travelling today, the "reasons for travel" field is "optional"!

I also filled in form to see what was involved.

Gobsmacked to see reason given for travel was "optional".

What a joke. So it's a lockdown with easy ability for inter provience travel.

Ludicrous.

The study found overall T cell levels were 1.6 times lower with a long gap compared with the short dosing schedule of 3-4 weeks, but that a higher proportion were “helper” T cells with the long gap, which support long-term immune memory. #Pfizer Read more https://bit.ly/3rvtdFe

57 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Hate to say it, but most of SE Asia beginning to look pretty exponential!

 

Yes. The graphs are different scales, so some countries still have an opportunity to change the course of the virus. Others simply have to ride it out.

 

The tourism sandbox program has generated an estimated THB400 million income directly and indirectly for Phuket within a month.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Phuket Office on Wednesday reported that since the launch of the sandbox program on July 1, the province has welcomed 9,358 foreign tourists.

 

“The top five countries with most tourists visiting Phuket in the past 20 days are United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Germany and France,” added the office.

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40003649

1 hour ago, smedly said:

it seems this governemnt can only focus on one place "Bangkok" the so called epicentre - but reality is they need to focus perhaps even more on places like Pattaya and Siracha - it is ridiculous to expect people to travel to Bangkok for a vaccine into a crowded area were they are very likely to get infected if they weren't already - this will then spread the virus even further - just another failure on top of the many 

 

They need to start sharing what little vaccine there is out to other provinces and virus hotspots like Pattaya - their inability to understand simple numbers and vaccine deployment strategy and safety is another massive failure

 

Don't have people people travelling to the vaccine - bring the vaccine to them - if I could visit a walk in centre that was safe and properly controlled in Pattaya - I would be there tomorrow but only if AZ

 

I see no point in accepting sinovac for various reasons 

After ranting about the elderly not being prioritised for being vaccinated up here (or anywhere else) Mrs FFF told me this morning none (that might mean most) of the elderly are refusing to register for the vaccine.They don't want it apparently, they are pretty hardcore old school types like my mother in law.

As the Days go on, and the Infections keep rising , and more people Die, I have to ask this Question.

Are the Government on a Policy of a single Vaccine shot to fix this situation. ?

For more than 2 Weeks now the number of people that have received a second dose of Vaccine has remained fairly stagnant at roughly  2.5 Million.

No longer can it be considered IMO, that the number is waiting for the " between shots time " to catch up.

I really believe now that the Health Authorities are trying to stall the case load with a single Vaccination.

If that is so, the attempt at slowing the Delta Variant will just not work.

The Vaccines being used are inferior, and it is now most probable that 3 doses are required to knock this Mutation down. 

 

1 hour ago, Macrohistory said:

The variant is highly contagious, largely because people infected with the delta strain can carry up to 1,000 times more virus in their nasal passages than those infected with the original strain, according to new data..

Wow!! Just think what would happen if an infected person( without a mask) were to sneeze in at crowded venue or at a mass vaccination center. 

I'd call him a terrorist and run. 

34 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Having just completed the form as I'm travelling today, the "reasons for travel" field is "optional"!

I might be driving the Mrs FFF to Bangkok next month so I might have to check out the requirements as well.Good luck on your trip!

47 minutes ago, The Cipher said:

 

 

 

 

Whoops ????

Source.

In case Covid in India isn’t scary enough, how about a bit of black fungus on the side?

 

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/india-black-fungus-45-000-cases-death-covid-19-steroid-15263368

1 hour ago, anchadian said:

BP reported that a respiratory disease expert called on the govt to halt the purchasing of China's Sinovac vaccine.

 

 

Halt Sinovac shots, says respiratory disease expert

 

BANGKOK: A respiratory disease expert yesterday (July 22) called on the government to stop buying China’s Sinovac vaccine doses until a new generation of the shot, able to protect against all coronavirus strains, is developed.

 

Further calls from medical experts to halt the import and use of the Chinese-manufactured Sinovac come after the government confirmed they have agreed to procure 10.9 million additional Sinovac doses at a cost of B6.1 billion. 

 

The Cabinet recently agreed to procure 10.9 million additional Sinovac doses at a cost of B6.1 billion.

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/halt-sinovac-shots-says-respiratory-disease-expert-80786.php

7 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

After ranting about the elderly not being prioritised for being vaccinated up here (or anywhere else) Mrs FFF told me this morning none (that might mean most) of the elderly are refusing to register for the vaccine.They don't want it apparently, they are pretty hardcore old school types like my mother in law.

This is also an issue I feel. It’s not just vaccine targeting and availability. There is also messaging and education to consider.

 

it’s been much talked about in Singapore where traditional Chinese medicine is often preferred among the elderly. I doubt a day goes by that there isn’t an article in the Straits Times and CNA specifically talking about vaccines for the elderly and why they should take it, plus every government minister mentions it at every opportunity. I won’t bother posting links, they are too numerous, it’s an everyday thing.

1 minute ago, pokerface1 said:

Wow!! Just think what would happen if an infected person( without a mask) were to sneeze in at crowded venue or at a mass vaccination center. 

I'd call him a terrorist and run. 

Last year I was sitting in Yaso hospital (I'm the driver) sneezing my head off with hayfever and nobody batted an eye in the hospital maybe because I was wearing a mask but I got strung up on this forum by one or two.

16 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

After ranting about the elderly not being prioritised for being vaccinated up here (or anywhere else) Mrs FFF told me this morning none (that might mean most) of the elderly are refusing to register for the vaccine.They don't want it apparently, they are pretty hardcore old school types like my mother in law.

 

My wife's 70+ year old mother, who lives upcountry, has been talking regularly with my wife about the virus and vaccines situation. The M-I-L, lord knows where she gets her news, doesn't want to go anywhere near the Sinovac vaccine and seems to have convinced my wife to be hesitant about getting vaccinated in general.

 

You can say plenty of things about the Sinovac vaccine and argue about the different efficacy findings and lack of credibly reliable data especially regarding the newest variants..  But I do think it's unarguable that for an older person, the Sinovac vaccine is certainly at a minimum better than nothing.

 

(But, that's also NO kind of argument in favor of the Thai govt. continuing to buy and dispense it if other better alternatives are available.)

 

1 minute ago, anchadian said:

Halt Sinovac shots, says respiratory disease expert

 

BANGKOK: A respiratory disease expert yesterday (July 22) called on the government to stop buying China’s Sinovac vaccine doses until a new generation of the shot, able to protect against all coronavirus strains, is developed.

 

Further calls from medical experts to halt the import and use of the Chinese-manufactured Sinovac come after the government confirmed they have agreed to procure 10.9 million additional Sinovac doses at a cost of B6.1 billion. 

 

The Cabinet recently agreed to procure 10.9 million additional Sinovac doses at a cost of B6.1 billion.

 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/halt-sinovac-shots-says-respiratory-disease-expert-80786.php

government spokesman in the article responding to the doctor who said Sinovac purchases should be halted. I wonder why this wasn’t government policy earlier in the course of the pandemic?
 

“It is best to have as many vaccines as possible. Waiting for the one that we like may not help us fight the spread,” he said.”

 

 

45 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Just How Big Could India’s True Covid Toll Be?

 

"The official Covid-19 figures in India grossly understate the true scale of the pandemic in the country. Last week, India recorded the largest daily death toll for any country during the pandemic — a figure that is most likely still an undercount.

 

Even getting a clear picture of the total number of infections in India is hard because of poor record-keeping and a lack of widespread testing. Estimating the true number of deaths requires a second layer of extrapolation, depending on the share of those infected who end up dying."

 

Cognitive dissonance re: Covid data is intense around here. Anything showing a decline is dismissed as "the numbers are undercounted" where as anything showing an increase in pandemic severity is accepted as de-facto correct. One might call it a pandemic of confirmation bias.

 

Additionally, factionalization on AseanNow has obviously occurred as well, and entrenched positions on the Covid issue have subtly become internalized into the identities of several core posters here. Not really helpful in the search for truth and context.

 

 

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Not only was this vulnerable group here not prioritized for vaccination, they are now also being left to die.

The whole situation should never even have gotten this far.

This Government screwed up big time, firstly with the lack of Vaccine procurement, then the allowing of Songkran to continue without any curbs on travel Etc..

Another very sad indictment of these so called " Government Ministers " to be playing God with peoples lives, and after yesterday seeing a body left in the Street for 12 Hours

Thailand is becoming a very sad place.

 

2 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

This is also an issue I feel. It’s not just vaccine targeting and availability. There is also messaging and education to consider.

 

it’s been much talked about in Singapore where traditional Chinese medicine is often preferred among the elderly. I doubt a day goes by that there isn’t an article in the Straits Times and CNA specifically talking about vaccines for the elderly and why they should take it, plus every government minister mentions it at every opportunity. I won’t bother posting links, they are too numerous, it’s an everyday thing.

I've noticed a pretty definite listening problem around here, it's not that they can't hear it's just when you try and tell them to do something and it's not just when I try and say something, I did think it was just me but I've since discovered that it's very widespread.Just a bad case of old dogs and new tricks. 

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

the Sinovac vaccine is certainly at a minimum better than nothing.

I believe what you said is right in itself.

I had the chance to be injected with Sinovac but i declined.

Two reasons,number one,i was promised AZ and at the last minute it was changed to Sinovac.

The second reason is more important,

If you get vaccinated with Sinovac and it is not very effective you may still get Covid and

get very sick.

Just having one shot will not protect you but how long do you have to wait for the second shot?

By not taking the first shot of Sinovac i believe the chances are better you will receive

a better vaccine as a first shot and not have to wait three months or more to get the second.

Makes sense to me.

21 minutes ago, anchadian said:

 

The tourism sandbox program has generated an estimated THB400 million income directly and indirectly for Phuket within a month.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Phuket Office on Wednesday reported that since the launch of the sandbox program on July 1, the province has welcomed 9,358 foreign tourists.

 

“The top five countries with most tourists visiting Phuket in the past 20 days are United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Germany and France,” added the office.

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40003649

offset 100/1 by the recent mass exodus of foreigers that decided it was no longer prudent to remain in Thailand ( I personally know of 7) plus add to that the massive reduced spending due to restrictions recently imposed makes BT400m is pocket change