Sinovac, or Not?

[rwill]

If you plan on getting Moderna in October and you wanted to have a vaccine now Sinovac would be a good choice because of the quicker wait for a second shot.

My wife is supposed to have her second AZ shot in September but not sure if she should as we are signed up for the Oct tranche of Moderna.  But I don't know if it is certain this will happen.  The hospital tells us they are still expecting it then.  But who knows?

Edited August 24, 2021 by rwill

[HappyExpat57]

I stay in touch with folks at a school with over 100 teachers, the majority of them Thai. They were all offered Sinovac. Each and every one refused it. Just sayin'.

[Nabby]

Try to find some peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy of SinoVac (replace "V" with "Cr"). Good luck with that search. 

[FridgeMagnet1]

10 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I stay in touch with folks at a school with over 100 teachers, the majority of them Thai. They were all offered Sinovac. Each and every one refused it. Just sayin'.

I don’t believe that for a second. 

[FridgeMagnet1]

16 minutes ago, Nabby said:

Try to find some peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy of SinoVac (replace "V" with "Cr"). Good luck with that search. 

Wot?

[HappyExpat57]

8 minutes ago, FridgeMagnet1 said:

I don’t believe that for a second. 

And this is the look of a reply from someone who couldn't care less what you believe.

[watboy]

If you are planning Moderna shots later, I think there's good reason to take Sinovac now. It still has some real effectiveness in preventing death. Also, as an inactivated virus, its the safest to take and to mix and match with other vaccines. In the US, the policy for unvaccinated people who caught covid, is to wait 4 weeks after recovery before vaccination. As Sinovac is just inactive covid, its essentially the same as someone naturally infected and you would be safe from vaccine interactions 4 weeks after your Sinovac shot. I would take 2 moderna shots after sinovac, not 1 shot booster. Moderna will most likely arrive in Thailand in batches, so there's a real chance you won't get your 1st moderna shot in October, could be as late as March. Sinovac would give you real protection against death until then.

[FridgeMagnet1]

13 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

And this is the look of a reply from someone who couldn't care less what you believe.

Why on earth you make up a story like that?

 

how did you get to this point in your life where you are making up stories like this on ThaiVisa? 
 

seriously 

[watboy]

34 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

I stay in touch with folks at a school with over 100 teachers, the majority of them Thai. They were all offered Sinovac. Each and every one refused it. Just sayin'.

I stay in touch with folks in America. They were all offered Pfizer, Moderna and JJ. Millions refused it. Just sayin'.

[Nanaplaza666]

A lot of foreigners are getting pfizer in bkk so there is a way to get you pfizer shots i would try to register for that first . I got my first pfizer shot yesterday at bumrungrad sukhumvit soi3 and will get the next on sept 13th free of charge . So maybe it's an idea to visit the website . And even if you have to travel to get it , i still think it's better then taking sinovac . 

[Dirk Z]

My advice (I am an MD): take whatever you can get and don't rely on promises. Sinovac was the first vaccine to be developed, long trusted old school technology, and although the protection may be less than than that of other more sexier (mRNA) vaccines it certainly helps to get you less ill, avoid ICU and a graveyard. The rich countries are reaching the point of not needing as many, the companies will keep producing, so my guess is that the market will be flooded with many different vaccines. Next year you can upgrade your immune status with something else, I am sure.

[Orac]

4 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

A lot of foreigners are getting pfizer in bkk so there is a way to get you pfizer shots i would try to register for that first . I got my first pfizer shot yesterday at bumrungrad sukhumvit soi3 and will get the next on sept 13th free of charge . So maybe it's an idea to visit the website . And even if you have to travel to get it , i still think it's better then taking sinovac . 

Options now in Pattaya as well - i completed form with Bangkok Pattaya Hospital this morning for +40s and have appointment for pfizer vac tomorrow.

[watboy]

I understand people's hesitancy to get sinovac now as it would preclude you from getting something better. But you don't have that issue with your private order of Moderna, which would allow you to get 2 shots of sinovac, and 2 shots of moderna, which looks to be a safe combination. Your decisions should thus be, in order of priority

 

1. Get 2 shots of Pfizer now. You may lose your pre-payment for moderna, but who cares, you were willing to pay for an mRNA vaccine and you got one sooner.

2. Get 2 shots of Sinovac now, then get Moderna later

3. Worst choice is get nothing now, wait for something better later

 

Then you have all the other odd options, which I personally put all below #2. Any mix and match vaccinations that is 1 sinovac + 1 Pfizer or Az or any single shot of Pfizer or AZ. Because you should wait 6-8 months before getting your Moderna shots, and depending on hospital policy, if you don't take the Moderna shot on the allowed timeframe, you will lose it. Two shots of AZ now, doesn't look to be an option.

 

If you are worried about vaccine safety, then you should be really worried about mixing vaccines that are not inactivated virus. There's very little data on that. The data on antibodies from mixing is just the gov't is pushing for PR. Antibody levels are no indication of immunity, just your immunological response.

 

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-brief-fda-advises-against-use-sars-cov-2-antibody-test-results-evaluate-immunity-or-protection

[MrJ2U]

On 8/23/2021 at 12:09 PM, Saltire said:

Wife can go too but she has convinced herself as she had a serious heart condition in her teens, that Sinovac could kill her. So she has decided to wait for a pay-as-you-go vaccine, or 2 x AZ.

Most Thais don't want Sinovac.

 

My wifes waiting until our Modern appointments, hopefully.

[FridgeMagnet1]

42 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Most Thais don't want Sinovac.

 

My wifes waiting until our Modern appointments, hopefully.

You don’t know what most Thais “want” 
 

You know what you want. You understand what the difference is, don’t you?

[MrJ2U]

9 minutes ago, FridgeMagnet1 said:

You don’t know what most Thais “want” 
 

You know what you want. You understand what the difference is, don’t you?

I understand what my Thai family wants.

 

 

They don't want Sinovac along with the medical community.

 

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3140979/coronavirus-thai-doctors-want-pfizer-vaccines-amid

 

Your welcome to get whatever vaccine you can get your hands on.

 

 

 

 

[watboy]

What people want is an mRNA or other western vaccine now. That is not a choice offered to the majority of Thai's. Its take Sinovac now and not be given Pfizer/AZ later, or wait until Pfizer/AZ is made available. Thats a much harder risk assessment to take. That's why the OP is in a special position of having pre-paid for Moderna from the private sector, it would allow him to take Sinovac now AND get an mRNA vaccine later. But for the others, the calculus is roughly as follows. Assuming 60mn people, 20k daily reported case, say the real number is 3x would mean 60k actual cases a day or roughly 0.1% chance per day. But if you were to wait 4 months to get your Pfizer shot, the odds of you contracting covid during that period is 1 in 9. Assuming the global average fatality rate of 3%, you have a 1 in 300 chance of getting covid and dying while waiting 4 months for a better vaccine. Taking the low end off what google showed me, Sinovac even against Delta, reduces fatality rate by 80%. Assuming Sinovac only reduced the fatality rate, and does nothing to reduce your odds of contracting it, your odds of dying would be down to 1 in 1,500. If you believe in the 90%+ effectiveness, it increases the odds to more than 1 in 3,000. One in 300 is unacceptable odds to me. Covid has already taken 2 people dear to me.

[FridgeMagnet1]

The idea that some people won’t take a potentially life saving vaccine during a global pandemic because “even the Thais don’t want it” is quite incredible.

 

but peak Thai Visa 

[Pib]

10 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Most Thais don't want Sinovac.

 

My wifes waiting until our Modern appointments, hopefully.

 

9 hours ago, FridgeMagnet1 said:

You don’t know what most Thais “want” 
 

You know what you want. You understand what the difference is, don’t you?

 

I would have to agree with Mr J2U based on what I see with most of my Thai in-laws/friends/neighbors.   Most really don't want a Sinovac jab(s) and are actually avoiding getting/scheduling a jab until they can get AstraZeneca, Pfizer/Moderna, and a few are fine with Sinopharm.    And these in-laws/fiends/neighbors range from poor to well off; a few work for the govt as local officials, a teacher, one is anofficer in the Navy; some own their own small businesses, some work for others, etc.  They simply don't want Sinovac and are trying to schedule a jab that will be AstraZeneca, Pfizer, or Sinophram....and one in-law has reserved some Moderna jabs.  Yeap, seems Sinovac is a jab they really want to avoid if at all possible....but would take another vaccine no problem.

[BerndNe]

3 weeks ago, I had my first jab: SINOVAC, without any problems or allergic reactions.

Yesterday I got my 2nd: Astra-Zenica, also no reactions.

This was all done by the Government Hospital in Surin.

The only problem I have now: when I had my jab and left the place, they gathered (from everybody else too) all the papers from the vaccination and I had nothing. Will they send me a vaccination certificate by mail or electronically on my phone? 

Maybe some one knows?

Sorry about my english....

Bernd

[placeholder]

3 hours ago, Pib said:

 

 

I would have to agree with Mr J2U based on what I see with most of my Thai in-laws/friends/neighbors.   Most really don't want a Sinovac jab(s) and are actually avoiding getting/scheduling a jab until they can get AstraZeneca, Pfizer/Moderna, and a few are fine with Sinopharm.    And these in-laws/fiends/neighbors range from poor to well off; a few work for the govt as local officials, a teacher, one is anofficer in the Navy; some own their own small businesses, some work for others, etc.  They simply don't want Sinovac and are trying to schedule a jab that will be AstraZeneca, Pfizer, or Sinophram....and one in-law has reserved some Moderna jabs.  Yeap, seems Sinovac is a jab they really want to avoid if at all possible....but would take another vaccine no problem.

But the reasons I hear from Thais is fake stories such as a policeman died after taking it, etc. It comes from social media not a sober examination of the facts. And plenty of Thai people are accepting the vaccine. So far, the thai govt has found no shortage of willing takers.

[newnative]

19 minutes ago, placeholder said:

But the reasons I hear from Thais is fake stories such as a policeman died after taking it, etc. It comes from social media not a sober examination of the facts. And plenty of Thai people are accepting the vaccine. So far, the thai govt has found no shortage of willing takers.

     I agree that plenty of Thai people are accepting the vaccine.  There were plenty of Thais waiting with me when I got my two sinovac jabs.  My Thai partner's family all got sinovac in June--they are upper-middle class, mostly in banking.  Would they have preferred a different vaccine?  Yes.  Me, too.  But, that was what was on offer and we all gladly took it.  Our thinking, which hasn't changed, was any vaccine is better than no vaccine and the sooner the better.  We have all contracted for a Moderna booster--if it ever arrives--and we will be on the lookout for any other booster choices that might be available to buy from hospitals in case the Moderna falls through.  

[Nemises]

Take both. Next. 

[FridgeMagnet1]

7 hours ago, Pib said:

 

 

I would have to agree with Mr J2U based on what I see with most of my Thai in-laws/friends/neighbors.   Most really don't want a Sinovac jab(s) and are actually avoiding getting/scheduling a jab until they can get AstraZeneca, Pfizer/Moderna, and a few are fine with Sinopharm.    And these in-laws/fiends/neighbors range from poor to well off; a few work for the govt as local officials, a teacher, one is anofficer in the Navy; some own their own small businesses, some work for others, etc.  They simply don't want Sinovac and are trying to schedule a jab that will be AstraZeneca, Pfizer, or Sinophram....and one in-law has reserved some Moderna jabs.  Yeap, seems Sinovac is a jab they really want to avoid if at all possible....but would take another vaccine no problem.

Millions of people have been vaccinated with Sinovac in Thailand. When people say “Thais won’t take it”

 

they really mean “I won’t take it”

 

 

[FridgeMagnet1]

4 hours ago, placeholder said:

But the reasons I hear from Thais is fake stories such as a policeman died after taking it, etc. It comes from social media not a sober examination of the facts. And plenty of Thai people are accepting the vaccine. So far, the thai govt has found no shortage of willing takers.

How many doses of Sinovac have been administered in Thailand? 10 million?

 

who are these people, if “the Thais won’t take it?”

 

 

Edited August 25, 2021 by FridgeMagnet1

[Bezdomny]

For all Sinovac doubters, check Cambodia numbers. It works.