Pattaya Expat gets Astra Zeneca in Bangkok during lockdown

[nightbird]

Israel reports that at least 50% of their hospital patients were infected after they were vaccinated. Can someone explain to me why you would all be rushing out to be vaccinated if it only gives you a 50% chance of protection? Add to this, the fact that the death rate of infected people is quite small, infinitesimal, unless the right pre conditions exist in you. We are not given the real data about the vaccines and the agreement that the various medical coalitions and big pharma have, along with the governments that go along with lobbyists and all kinds of disinformation studies that are produced out of insufficient testing of the vaccines is enough to give any thinking person pause in the face of this stampede to vaccinate. The powers that be are instilling fear in the world and allowing corporate interests to rule. Mandating will be the next move that will try to be instituted. Totally insanity. Do yourselves a favor and read the opposition's point of view. Not the conspiracy theorists, but the science that has gone on and the opposing results that never get talked about. 

[GreasyFingers]

3 hours ago, Acharn said:

There is a well known syndrome among many people who have temporarily elevated blood pressure when they go to see a doctor. Happens to me every time, i.e. every month when I go to renew my prescription. Sometimes the nurse will take it a second time after a ten or fifteen minute wait and it's back down to normal, sometimes it doesn't go back down. My doctor, who I have complete faith in, says it's nothing to worry about.

Driving on Thai roads to the hospital does it to me too.

[goatfarmer]

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

"In conclusion, I can understand why there is a growing number of people who are against taking any vaccine, certainly until they are proven."

‐---

I can't understand being anti vax.

 

THEY ARE PROVEN!

Some of the vaccines use new technology. Some people tend to get their knickers knotted about such innovations; gmo, for example. Those who declaim genetically modified organisms are oblivious to the fact that there isn't a piece of food that hasn't been genetically engineered in some way or other.

 

Same with new tech vaccines: DNA and mRNA vaccines are 'new'.  (How long before they stop being new? A year, five years?)
The long term side effects are 'unknown'. (How long do we have to wait before deciding that long term side effects are not an issue?)
I can take Ivermectin for the rest of my life. (Maybe. But as any goat farmer will tell you, bugs can quickly become resistant to Ivermectin.)
Bill Gates is conspiring to reduce the population through vaccines. (Ok. I can't think of answer to that one.)

 

Then there are the innumerate who can't read a chart and see the death trends inversely proportional to the infection trends in countries with high percentages of the population vaccinated. 

 

Plenty of reasons for being anti-vax. Are they good reasons?

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by goatfarmer

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, Husain Tula said:

You are one of the lucky ones.  I am over 60, living in Bangkok with Hypertension, Diabetes type 2, and Cardiac patient with a stint.  I have been chasing all possible sources that offer the vaccine in Thailand and in my own country since last year.  I have registered in a number of Hospitals, health clinics and lately, the Ministry of Public Health, and until this minute, I don't have any booking date, nor any confirmation.  On contacting the places I booked to check, the answer is the same "there is no update and we will contact you when there is". I said it before, I give up.  On top of all of this, one of my diabetes medications is out of stock in the entire country and details of a substitute is hard to get.

Don't give up!

I'm sure there will be multiple chances for a booking from this site during July / August.

Check it constantly. 

 

https://thailandintervac.com/

[ThaiFelix]

and all this without the pink ID card?? 

[goatfarmer]

42 minutes ago, nightbird said:

Israel reports that at least 50% of their hospital patients were infected after they were vaccinated. Can someone explain to me why you would all be rushing out to be vaccinated if it only gives you a 50% chance of protection?

Because protection does not come only in the form of preventing infection. Personally, I don't care whether or not I get infected. I probably will. We probably all will. My end point is avoiding hospitalisation and/or death from covid. If a vaccine will improve those odds, then I'm on board.

"Add to this, the fact that the death rate of infected people is quite small, infinitesimal, unless the right pre conditions exist in you."

The odds might seem infinitesimal but the absolute numbers are sufficient to cause chaos. We're already seeing hospitals at capacity with covid patients. It wouldn't take much more exponential growth of cases to see the mayhem we saw recently in India.

 

"We are not given the real data about the vaccines."

You mean adverse events subsequent to being vaccinated? There's plenty of anecdotal stuff on the internet if you want to go looking and give yourself the jitters. Other than that, what is real data? There's always going to be a margin of error in data.

 

"The powers that be are instilling fear in the world and allowing corporate interests to rule."

... and Billy Gates is conspiring to reduce the world's population with vaccines. Evil man!!!!!????

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by goatfarmer

[goatfarmer]

Just now, ThaiFelix said:

and all this without the pink ID card?? 

Without. I just called up MedPark a few times last month on the advice of an elderly Indian gentleman who said, "Keep hassling them."

[goatfarmer]

4 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

So they really stretch it to ~ 12 weeks.

 

 

12 weeks is now the consensus interval for three reasons:
1. You supposedly get protection from day 22 to day 90:

Vaccine efficacy after a single standard dose of vaccine from day 22 to day 90 post vaccination was 76% (59%, 86%), and modelled analysis indicated that protection did not wane during this initial 3 month period.

 

2. Second dose efficacy was higher after 12 weeks, rather than 6 weeks; and

 

3. The 12 week interval allows more people to be vaccinated during that period.

 

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3777268

Edited July 24, 2021 by goatfarmer

[johnarth]

check where it is from if India it probably not registered means not accepted for international travel notice from Australia

[codemonkey]

Completed first dose of AZ this afternoon in Bangkok. Feel tired, sleepy, groggy like being in fog. Body feels hot, with mild sweating but no fever. 2nd dose scheduled in 9 weeks. Low drama, seamless operation at the hospital.

No checkpoints in/out of BKK, traffic is lighter than normal.

[joecoolfrog]

3 hours ago, sead said:

I would have thought of getting vaccinated if I were your age and had some sickness. But at 51 in not gambling with my life. I already have antibodies and I reccomend everyone to first check for antibodies before considering vaccines. 

Just do the maths ; Are the odds greater of dying or getting seriously ill from a) Covid or b) vaccine.

[Chris.B]

"Just for the record I understand that this service is for Expats over a certain age, but I know a few that have been vaccinated who are under 60 years old."

 

Selfish, queue jumpers crawling out from the woodwork.... ????

 

I suspect there will be a lot more of these before this is finished.

 

[Paradise Pete]

3 hours ago, sead said:

I would have thought of getting vaccinated if I were your age and had some sickness. But at 51 in not gambling with my life. I already have antibodies and I reccomend everyone to first check for antibodies before considering vaccines. 

Yes you are. You're just gambling in a different way.

 

If you have antibodies then you must have been exposed to the virus at some point. It's become clear that is not nearly as good as the response to the vaccine. And actually you're in a better spot than most, in that it's also clear that even a single jab of the vaccine, combined with your previous exposure, will greatly enhance your immune response.

 

Many hundreds of millions of doses have been administered. If there were actual serious risk it would be obvious by now. No vaccine in the history of the world has been more widely tested than this.

[codemonkey]

4 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

"Just for the record I understand that this service is for Expats over a certain age, but I know a few that have been vaccinated who are under 60 years old."

 

Selfish, queue jumpers crawling out from the woodwork.... ????

 

I suspect there will be a lot more of these before this is finished.

 

I spoke with some younger folks, early 40's (expat teacher, and one with underlying health condition) who are on the covid vaccine eligibility list. The hospital registration process allows only those meeting eligibility criteria to schedule the vaccine. Also, some embassy's offer vaccine based on citizenship, not age or risk assessment.

[brewsterbudgen]

4 hours ago, jayboy said:

Since from May onward, Bumrungrad has been fobbing off many expatriates with an existing Bumrungrad hospital number, medical records, Thai ID including pink book, and qualified in terms of age (over 60) and underlying conditions - I'm moved to congratulate you but remain hazy on what distinguishes you from many others.

 

I'm pleased for you but would be interested in your thoughts about what made your application succeed.

I can't speak for the OP, but I just emailed them mid-May and got my appointment back within a week or so. The appointment wasn't until the end of July though. I'm 60 and registered with Bumrungrad, plus I had to provide my Thai tax number.

[mahjongguy]

2 hours ago, nightbird said:

Do yourselves a favor and read the opposition's point of view.

You should follow your own suggestion. In the USA the only people dying are those who are unvaccinated. The other 70% of the population is doing quite well.

 

Not a complex number to analyse, not a convoluted story to tell. Just that simple irrefutable fact.

[molsey]

4 hours ago, sead said:

I would have thought of getting vaccinated if I were your age and had some sickness. But at 51 in not gambling with my life. I already have antibodies and I reccomend everyone to first check for antibodies before considering vaccines. 

I’d be very interested to know how you discovered you had antibodies…. was it from a test at home / test that you ordered from overseas?

[1FinickyOne]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I can't understand being anti vax.

Not sure of your age, but if you remember the polio scare and the celebration when the vaccine came out... I can't imagine that there were people who refused it back then?? 

 

My mom went door to door to raise money for vaccine researcher and was it Dr Salk? He was a national hero... 

[richard_smith237]

5 hours ago, sead said:

I would have thought of getting vaccinated if I were your age and had some sickness. But at 51 in not gambling with my life. I already have antibodies and I reccomend everyone to first check for antibodies before considering vaccines. 

Your antibodies will wear off.

In just the same manner, the antibodies the body produces in response to vaccination will also wear off. 

 

The difference of course is that those who have take the vaccine will take a booster, meanwhile, you will be gambling with the higher risk of contracting Covid-19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[madisongy]

3 hours ago, nightbird said:

Can someone explain to me why you would all be rushing out to be vaccinated if it only gives you a 50% chance of protection? 

Even if this were true, the reason would be a 50% chance of protection is better than a zero chance.   But hey, who am I to argue with folks that want to help increase vaccine availability for those who want to get it.   

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, joecoolfrog said:

5 hours ago, sead said:

I would have thought of getting vaccinated if I were your age and had some sickness. But at 51 in not gambling with my life. I already have antibodies and I reccomend everyone to first check for antibodies before considering vaccines. 

Just do the maths ; Are the odds greater of dying or getting seriously ill from a) Covid or b) vaccine.

Option c)......  someone who thinks like that faces higher odds of dying or getting seriously ill from doing something dumb...  we can except to see antivaxxers removing themselves from the gene-pool at some point in the future if they are not just the typical ‘retired distrusting antiestablishmentarianists’ who have long since spread their paranoid seed... 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, nightbird said:

Can someone explain to me why you would all be rushing out to be vaccinated if it only gives you a 50% chance of protection?

Someone can easily explain it to you... But you’ll have to do the understanding yourself !...

[PEE TEE]

Now i am very upset i had my first AZ jab back in June on the 27th my next one is booked for 19th September WHERE  IS MY BLOOMING BADGE I DIDNT GET ONE .

Edited July 24, 2021 by PEE TEE

[pepi2005]

Concluding from your ability to post, they didn't inject you with 30% of the syringe filled with air as the sticker suggests. Good!

 

I thank you for your service participating in the beta test group for Pfizer & Co. for free, and am looking forward to watch more incoming long term effect studies over the next months and years.

Edited July 24, 2021 by pepi2005

[MrJ2U]

13 hours ago, Jingthing said:

"In conclusion, I can understand why there is a growing number of people who are against taking any vaccine, certainly until they are proven."

‐---

I can't understand being anti vax.

 

THEY ARE PROVEN!

99% of COVID deaths are now of unvaccinated people, experts say

COVID cases and deaths are on the rise in what is now a "pandemic of the unvaccinated," the director of the CDC said.

[damian]

8 hours ago, Acharn said:

There is a well known syndrome among many people who have temporarily elevated blood pressure when they go to see a doctor. Happens to me every time, i.e. every month when I go to renew my prescription. Sometimes the nurse will take it a second time after a ten or fifteen minute wait and it's back down to normal, sometimes it doesn't go back down. My doctor, who I have complete faith in, says it's nothing to worry about.

Me too. Doc told me to buy a machine and take a reading when I wake up and just before bed. All normal everytime. At the hospital up through the roof first reading. Ok after waiting and a second go. I blame the nurses!

[MrJ2U]

Meanwhile:

 

(Reuters) -

"The United States has administered 340,363,922 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Friday morning."

 

Reuters July 23, 2021

 

[shdmn]

I didn't see this posted anywhere on this forum yet, unless I missed it.

 

https://www.astrazeneca.com/country-sites/thailand/press-release/an-open-letter-to-the-people-of-thailand-en.html

 

Quote

Dear friends in Thailand,

As AstraZeneca’s representative here, I see the challenges that all of us across the country face in the battle against COVID-19 and want to explain what we are doing to help.

The rising number of confirmed COVID-19 delta cases in Thailand concerns all of us at AstraZeneca. We are in constant contact with the Department for Disease Control on the virus’ evolving impact and on how we can help the national vaccination programme.

I want to assure you that for us, there is no higher priority than manufacturing vaccines that can protect you and your loved ones, as fast as possible.

We will leave no stone unturned.

Our vaccine is a ‘biologic’ product that starts with growing ‘living’ ingredients. Its manufacturing is complicated. The number of doses in each ‘harvested’ batch is never completely certain, especially in the early stages of a new supply chain. Even with that context, our projections show that in months with uninterrupted manufacturing we can supply five to six million doses in Thailand.

By the end of July, we will have delivered 11.3 million doses, as part of our overall commitment to deliver 61 million to Thailand. As of now, we have delivered nine million doses, with 2.3 million to be supplied to the Ministry of Public Health next week.

We are delivering in the fastest possible timeframe, however, given the gravity of the delta variant, we are leaving no stone unturned to accelerate supply further still. Together with our manufacturing partner, Siam Bioscience, we have initiated efforts to optimise the manufacturing process and we believe that in months with good ‘harvests’, we will be able to deliver more.

We are also scouring the 20+ supply chains in our worldwide manufacturing network to find additional vaccines for Southeast Asia, including Thailand. A global supply crunch for COVID-19 vaccines and shortages of the materials and components required to produce the vaccine, make it difficult to provide certainty today, but we are hopeful of importing additional doses in the months ahead.

COVID-19 is the biggest public health crisis of our generation. We at AstraZeneca see it as our duty to help, and thousands of our employees, and those of our partners, have devoted their lives this past year to do so. We do this at no profit during the pandemic because we believe that’s the right thing to do. The immediate needs of the pandemic are too large for us to take on alone, but we will not rest until you are vaccinated.

Our battle against COVID-19 is shared.

Since the start of the pandemic, you have shown the true heart and strength of Thailand. Polling suggests that over one third of the people in Thailand have donated money, food or supplies to support one another. We have witnessed remarkable solidarity within the community and across provincial borders. The battle against COVID-19 has been a marathon, but the one thing that will bring us closer to the finish line is running this race together, not just in Thailand but also internationally.

We in Thailand face an upsurge in cases today. Our brothers and sisters across ASEAN experience new lockdowns and rising fatalities also. New data from Canada shows that one dose of our vaccine is 87% effective against hospitalisation or death caused by the delta variant. The vaccines made in Thailand are of critical importance to our neighbours as much as they are to us here.

We share the same goal. To end the pandemic, we need to manage virus levels everywhere. As the virus ignores borders, the acceleration of COVID-19 in neighbouring countries is a threat to us in Thailand. This fight can only be won if we act together.

Yours sincerely,

James Teague
Managing Director, AstraZeneca Thailand

 

 

Edited July 24, 2021 by shdmn

[Husain Tula]

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Don't give up!

I'm sure there will be multiple chances for a booking from this site during July / August.

Check it constantly. 

 

https://thailandintervac.com/

Appreciate your encouragement Jingthing, I am registered with it from the first time it came out, and registered again after claims that it got busted.  In fact, i was registered with the site that was before it, in all cases, I could not manage to get a date.

What's strange was at one point, the site offered only two Hospitals in Bangkok.  I succeeded in registering with Samitivej Hospital where they sent me emails requesting additional details and a copy of my passport, which I did.  A couple of days back, I contacted them to ask of any update, and they answered me saying no updates available.

I don't mind if I get it or not, what I mind is being denied the freedom to live normal because I am not vaccinated. 

 

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, Husain Tula said:

Appreciate your encouragement Jingthing, I am registered with it from the first time it came out, and registered again after claims that it got busted.  In fact, i was registered with the site that was before it, in all cases, I could not manage to get a date.

What's strange was at one point, the site offered only two Hospitals in Bangkok.  I succeeded in registering with Samitivej Hospital where they sent me emails requesting additional details and a copy of my passport, which I did.  A couple of days back, I contacted them to ask of any update, and they answered me saying no updates available.

I don't mind if I get it or not, what I mind is being denied the freedom to live normal because I am not vaccinated. 

 

Well, forget about that original direct registration on the site. I did that too with no contact ever.

Now it's all about the links.

Check that page often and eventually you'll see information for registration at one or more of the hospitals.