Covid Tales 2: 78 year old retiree recounts getting Covid in Thailand after being vaccinated

[webfact]

file photo

 

Last week the editorial team at ASEAN NOW asked our membership for their Covid-19 tales. 

 

Of course, everyone has one in what has been a life defining experience for billions around the world, not just in Thailand.

 

We were overwhelmed. 

 

We are changing names because of defamation fears but all the stories are genuine and heartfelt, and we hope they will help those expats living in Thailand or waiting to return to homes and families in the Land of Smiles. 

 

Last time we featured the trials and tribulations of someone trying to get the Thailand Pass - many obstacles were thrown up.

 

Now we feature a story from a 78 year old retiree in the north of Thailand about getting vaccinated then contracting Covid.

 

It contains a strong warning to those on the forum who have advocated waiting for an mRNA vaccine like Moderna rather than take a free jab with Sinovac or Astra Zeneca. 

 

This is "Peter's" story:

 

"I am a 78 year old who received a Sinovac jab on August 5th and Astra Zeneca the following month. 

 

"I chose not to wait for an mRNA vaccine on the basis that this combination was better than nothing".

 

All proceeded well with minor side effects after getting the jabs at Big C in Chiang rai.

 

But at the beginning of October both Peter and his Thai girlfriend developed Covid symptoms with her worse affected than him. 

 

"We were attended to in the quarantine section of Phan hospital," Peter continued, "where swab tests confirmed we were positive for Covid".

 

He said they were both allowed to go back to their village to collect supplies for their 14 day stay. The 18 bed facility had no kitchen facilities apart from a kettle and there were another ten patients there. 

 

Both he and his partner had lung xrays on admission and after five days and no visitors were allowed and all contact with doctors was by phone. 

 

Blood oxygen, blood pressure and temperature data was taken by the patients themselves at 6 am and 6pm and comunicated to the doctors outside.

 

"For the first 4-5 days we had massive doses of Favipirivir, an antiviral," he said of his ordeal.

 

Meals were delivered three times a day but Peter still lost 4 kilos at the hospital that he described as "spartan".

 

On the plus side the stay, medications and xrays were all free of charge.

 

He said that it took him just two days to get over his symptoms but his girlfriend took ten days to recover.

 

After this experience they had to self-isolate in their village for a further five days.

 

He said that the only paperwork was a discharge from quarantine certificate. There was no further testing. He said he was now fully recovered and was able to do his normal excercise in quarantine.

 

However, he ended his email with a cautionary tale about a 71 year old friend who decided not to get vaccinated for free and wait for an mRNA jab.

 

He too caught Covid and turned from a fit man walking up to 15 kilometers a day to someone out of breath after going 200 meters with his dogs.

 

"If my story does not convince foreigners and Thais alike that any coronavirus vaccine is better than being unvaccinated, nothing will.

 

"In my opinion being vaccinated very probably saved me from a life changing illness.

 

"As it has previously with (diseases like) polio, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis."

 

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[PJPom]

I am 75 and was pleased to get the Sinovac and AstraZeneca jabs in Krabi . The horror tales and the waiting for Moderna or Physer seemed to me to be based on nothing other than personal prejudices.

Thanks OP for giving us a positive report with a good outcome, I am now in line for my third jab in January and must say thanks to the local government, well done.

[relax33]

23 minutes ago, PJPom said:

The horror tales and the waiting for Moderna or Physer seemed to me to be based on nothing other than personal prejudices.

Thanks OP for giving us a positive report with a good outcome, I am now in line for my third jab in January and must say thanks to the local government, well done.

This is for those who had Sinovac or other non US vaccines
Singapore had a 98% vacc rate with  90% Pfizer n 10% moderna vaccines n still registered a record 5000 covid cases daily a few weeks ago . Its now at 2000+ which is still on the high side given its small population of 5.5 mil although 98% of the cases are mild ones with no symptoms ...
The excuse being given is cos they test more intensively than Germany  ... which is honestly not too flattering ...

Edited November 25, 2021 by relax33

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, relax33 said:

This is for those who had Sinovac or other non US vaccines
Singapore had a 98% vacc rate with  90% Pfizer n 10% moderna vaccines n still registered a record 5000 covid cases daily a few weeks ago . Its now at 2000+ which is still on the high side given its small population of 5.5 mil although 98% of the cases are mild ones with no symptoms ...
The excuse being given is cos they test more intensively than Germany  ... which is honestly not too flattering ...

Its not astonishing really... 

 

5,500,000 population - 98% of whom have been vaccinated.

 

Thats: 110,000 who have not been vaccinated. 

 

Thats also 215,600 who are in the 4% for whom the vaccine is not effective (If assuming Moderna / Pfizer at 96% *efficacy)

 

Thats a Total of 325,600 people in the population of Singapore who may test positive to Covid-19 if exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.  5000 positive cases is 1.5% of that.

 

IF Singapore are testing a lot of people, it makes perfect sense that they will find a significantly higher proportion of positive cases. 

 

The real metric has gone unmentioned - How many require hospitalisation. 

 

Singapore had a Maximum Covid-19 death rate of 17 per day last week and is now on 6 new Covid-19 deaths per day. 

 

 

 

*Real world efficiency will be much less than control tested efficacy: 

Could assume a real world effectiveness of 80% (just a guess) ??

 

 

[ed strong]

"If my story does not convince foreigners and Thais alike that any coronavirus vaccine is better than being unvaccinated, nothing will.

 

"In my opinion being vaccinated very probably saved me from a life changing illness.

 

"As it has previously with (diseases like) polio, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis."

 

 

Ah yes i remember everyone getting vaccinated against polio and then we all caught polio but luckily our symptoms weren't that bad!

 

What a pathetic comparison.

[hioctane]

10 hours ago, relax33 said:

This is for those who had Sinovac or other non US vaccines
Singapore had a 98% vacc rate with  90% Pfizer n 10% moderna vaccines n still registered a record 5000 covid cases daily a few weeks ago . Its now at 2000+ which is still on the high side given its small population of 5.5 mil although 98% of the cases are mild ones with no symptoms ...
The excuse being given is cos they test more intensively than Germany  ... which is honestly not too flattering ...

A little bit misleading. That vaccination rate is among those ELIGIBLE (12+), not the total population. Although cases may be increasing, the important thing to see is that deaths are not increasing.

[RichardColeman]

Personally I think stories of people getting covid after the job - which they will, it was not meant to stop it 100% - is a reason for opening the economy and just living with. Just try and do the best we can, wash hands, wear a mask, vaccinate, isolate the extreme vulnerable if they want it.  if not now then when ? If we wait for zero covid infections of vaccinated people the world will be closed for the next 10 years up

[arick]

You changed names in fear of defamation laws. Who would of been defamed. The dog? 

[4MyEgo]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

It contains a strong warning to those on the forum who have advocated waiting for an mRNA vaccine like Moderna rather than take a free jab with Sinovac or Astra Zeneca. 

There is no doubt in my mind that any vaccine for the elderly and those with underlying conditions is better than none, that said, the sooner those who do not want to get vaccinated, get over their selfishness, and then perhaps we can all live with another endemic virus, however the longer they leave it because (it's their right), then the more they contribute to the virus mutating to possibly a more lethal virus which will take out a heck of a lot more people.

 

The line has to be drawn, these vaccines work in reducing deaths period, anything said outside that, e.g. it's my right not to be vaccinated should be met with whatever isolation methods can be provided to those who refuse as they are the ones that will spread heavier viral loads to those of us vaccinated and those unvaccinated so the merry go round will continue for as long as they remain unvaccinated, and as I mentioned the potential for the virus mutating to a more lethal virus.

 

People who choose not to be vaccinated in my opinion (whilst it is currently their right) are selfish and personally, I won't have anything to do with them.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by 4MyEgo

[pacovl46]

10 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

There is no doubt in my mind that any vaccine for the elderly and those with underlying conditions is better than none, that said, the sooner those who do not want to get vaccinated, get over their selfishness, and then perhaps we can all live with another endemic virus, however the longer they leave it because (it's their right), then the more they contribute to the virus mutating to possibly a more lethal virus which will take out a heck of a lot more people.

 

The line has to be drawn, these vaccines work in reducing deaths period, anything said outside that, e.g. it's my right not to be vaccinated should be met with whatever isolation methods can be provided to those who refuse as they are the ones that will spread heavier viral loads to those of us vaccinated and those unvaccinated so the merry go round will continue for as long as they remain unvaccinated, and as I mentioned the potential for the virus mutating to a more lethal virus.

 

People who choose not to be vaccinated in my opinion (whilst it is currently their right) are selfish and personally, I won't have anything to do with them.

 

 

I totally agree with your post, except the part about the unvaccinated and mutation. The virus will mutate anyway, vaccinated or not. That's the reason why flu vaccines have to be adjusted every year to catch up to the mutation.

[pacovl46]

 If a vaccine has a rate of 90% then this means that 90% of the vaccinated won't get the disease when the virus enters their body and the remaining 10% might get it. They can still be carriers, though.

 

There is definitely concrete evidence that Pfizer for example is much more effective than Astra Zeneca. The numbers have been published numerous times already. Of course long term studies might alter those numbers a bit, but I don't suppose by much. The people releasing those numbers don't just suck them out of their fingertips. They're based on studies, lab tests, human trials and vaccination results by vaccinating the general public. Plus vaccines have been administered to the public for quite some time now. 

Edited November 26, 2021 by onthedarkside
quote of hidden post removed

[jacko45k]

 

UK blocking travelers from S.A and a few other countries over this.... BBC has a bit more detail.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59418127

The travel ban applies to South Africa – where the variant was identified – as well as Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana. They will be added to England's travel "red list".

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/african-countries-red-list-covid-variant/

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by onthedarkside
quote of hidden post removed

[lks7689]

16 hours ago, relax33 said:

This is for those who had Sinovac or other non US vaccines
Singapore had a 98% vacc rate with  90% Pfizer n 10% moderna vaccines n still registered a record 5000 covid cases daily a few weeks ago . Its now at 2000+ which is still on the high side given its small population of 5.5 mil although 98% of the cases are mild ones with no symptoms ...
The excuse being given is cos they test more intensively than Germany  ... which is honestly not too flattering .

 Let me give you my honest opinion since I'm here in Singapore.The stark reality is the initial low infection and death numbers from the original covid strain meant it actually worked against us when the Delta variant swept through the country. The vulnerable ones mostly elderly with other health conditions initially left unscathed are succumbing to the virus. It doesn't help that there is still a small fraction of this group who decided not to get vaxxed. The government has been upfront and already warned us the numbers would get up to 5000 daily and last about 3 months. That's in September and now the recent daily figures is about 1000 to 2000 and R0 at 0.8 and we are opening up again. Months ago I already warned here the Delta variant is deadly and causing numerous breakthrough cases. What happened since is just what we already observed; Higher number of infections and death rates especially amongst the unvaccinated. Other than eating out and group activities, life has go on the same the last few months and I'm traveling again for business next week. I attribute this to the high vaccination rate and our health care system. I would not be so confident if I'm in a neighbouring country. 

[hotchilli]

A good story... I waited until I could get Astra as both jabs and took the readily..

 

[cdemundo]

15 hours ago, ed strong said:

"If my story does not convince foreigners and Thais alike that any coronavirus vaccine is better than being unvaccinated, nothing will.

 

"In my opinion being vaccinated very probably saved me from a life changing illness.

 

"As it has previously with (diseases like) polio, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis."

 

 

Ah yes i remember everyone getting vaccinated against polio and then we all caught polio but luckily our symptoms weren't that bad!

 

What a pathetic comparison.

"Ah yes i remember everyone getting vaccinated against polio and then we all caught polio but luckily our symptoms weren't that bad!"

 

If it prevented people getting polio, that saved people from a life changing illness.

WTH?

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, pacovl46 said:

I totally agree with your post, except the part about the unvaccinated and mutation. The virus will mutate anyway, vaccinated or not. That's the reason why flu vaccines have to be adjusted every year to catch up to the mutation.

I think Dr Fauci if he has any credibility left, will disagree with what your saying, and yes viruses mutate, however when most people are vaccinated, there is less chances of a virus mutating to a deadlier or more contagious strain, I suppose that would be a better way of me saying what I said in my other post.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/21/health/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html

[elcaro]

2 hours ago, arick said:

You changed names in fear of defamation laws. Who would of been defamed. The dog? 

He calls the hospital of phan Spartan and gives his recount of events. This can be enough for defamation. In thailand it does not have to be a lie 

[Robert Tyrrell]

Hello ,

 

I think many forget Covid vaccines are not !! A cure , They are protection from Severe Illnesses, Hospitalization and Death !! 

[blackprince]

Peter's story confirms what I have previously said.

 

Getting covid is bad enough for most people.

 

But a foreigner getting covid in Thailand has all sorts of other issues to deal with. For example, being in hospital in a large shared ward (or field ward) where no one speaks English (in most regions).

 

Peter was lucky in that he was hospitalised with his girlfriend. Otherwise he would have been alone with no visitors allowed.

 

Even people with funds or insurance will probably find that there are no private rooms available.

[flyfrog]

Hi, I am 59 years old, vaccinated twice with Pfizer, went on a bike tour to Chiangmai, Mae Sot, Tak etc...came home and was tested positive, now in home quarantaine for 10 days. My wife is not vaccinated yet and tested negative, we stayed together the first 3 days I was back, how about that? I have almost no symptoms except some coughing but this is probably just a cold from riding in the cold weather up North. So be carefull out there even those vaccinated.

[Mac Mickmanus]

3 minutes ago, flyfrog said:

Hi, I am 59 years old, vaccinated twice with Pfizer, went on a bike tour to Chiangmai, Mae Sot, Tak etc...came home and was tested positive, now in home quarantaine for 10 days. My wife is not vaccinated yet and tested negative, we stayed together the first 3 days I was back, how about that? I have almost no symptoms except some coughing but this is probably just a cold from riding in the cold weather up North. So be carefull out there even those vaccinated.

How and where did you get tested ?

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

UK blocking travelers from S.A and a few other countries over this.... BBC has a bit more detail.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-59418127

The travel ban applies to South Africa – where the variant was identified – as well as Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana. They will be added to England's travel "red list".

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/african-countries-red-list-covid-variant/

 

Here we go again, the final nail in the coffin to recovery.

[flyfrog]

PCR test in Bangkok Pattaya hospital after being positive with an ATK quick test

Edited November 26, 2021 by flyfrog

[flyfrog]

18 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

How and where did you get tested ?

PCR test in Bangkok Pattaya hospital after being positive with an ATK quick test

[mtls2005]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

This is "Peter's" story:

 

20 hours ago, webfact said:

"If my story does not convince foreigners and Thais alike that any coronavirus vaccine is better than being unvaccinated, nothing will.

 

 

IMO, second-hand stories, with third-hand references to a 15 Km per day unvaccinated walker,  meant to encourage vaccination probably do more harm than good.

 

Stick to science, facts and figures.

 

 

If "Peter" wants to share his story directly, with many, many, many more details, and be subject to vetting and a Q & A, then fine.

 

 

I am pro-vaxx, hard-core, and am 2x Pfizer. However I try not to to "convince" others. Not my job.

 

 

[relax33]

8 hours ago, hioctane said:

A little bit misleading. That vaccination rate is among those ELIGIBLE (12+), not the total population. Although cases may be increasing, the important thing to see is that deaths are not increasing.

Actually, its mainly those under 12 that are not vaccinated
It was reported that only about 60,000 folks above 12 remain unvaccinated n the sg govt is actively targeting them by refusing to pay for any covid related hospitalization incurred by these folks n barring them from entering most public places 

A recent study by the Malaysian Health Ministry revealed only a very slight real world efficacy difference exists between Pfizer n Sinovac, so slight that its almost like a statistical error to common folks
details here 
Sinovac's COVID shot highly effective against serious illness- Malaysia study (yahoo.com)

Had 2 shots of pfizer myself n am going for a moderna booster soon so its not that I'm some sinovac cheerleader
Just hope to put at ease those who had Non US vaccines to let them know that there's really not a very big real world difference ... 
 

Edited November 26, 2021 by relax33

[relax33]

2 hours ago, lks7689 said:

The government has been upfront and already warned us the numbers would get up to 5000 daily and last about 3 months.

Honestly, they are just trying to cover their behinds with such proclamations to fool the public so that they can than rattle with "I told you so " ... blah blah later on 
This is a lame trick that any 6 year old can manage, should have pushed up the figure to 8 - 10k too 

In truth, they were actually experimenting in an area with no precedent n were sweating inside for they knew the population will turn on them if daily deaths hit 50

Actually the SG govt mismanaged things on several fronts n was very 3rd world in the way it handled things, especially in the initial phases  ...
 

Worse of all is that there is no accountability, no govt official got sacked for screwing up things big time like telling folks not to wear masks  ..
This is something unheard of in the LKY era  (LKY was SG's so called founding father)..

China fared 100x better in this aspect in sacking more than 250 govt officials for covid mismanagement ..
 

Edited November 26, 2021 by relax33

[mommysboy]

Agreed, the main point is clear- these vaccines are very, very effective at stopping the severe immune over-reaction that defines this virus and separates it from the common cold and flu, and that is thankfully enough to ensure anyone in reasonable health will be 99.9% ok.  You have to factor in a tiny chance of the vaccine actually killing you.  That's the deal,  I guess.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2021 by onthedarkside
quote of hidden post removed

[Boomer6969]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

"For the first 4-5 days we had massive doses of Favipirivir, an antiviral," he said of his ordeal.

Without Kidney and Liver function tests? Totally empirical medecine, since the effectiveness of both Favipiravir and Remdesivir remains to be proven.

 

I am terrified by OP's tale and will avoid getting tested at all cost. OP lost 4 Kgs, I am not sure I'd survive after two week without proper food, proper bed and probably no aircon either.

[Thaijack2014]

17 hours ago, ed strong said:

"If my story does not convince foreigners and Thais alike that any coronavirus vaccine is better than being unvaccinated, nothing will.

 

"In my opinion being vaccinated very probably saved me from a life changing illness.

 

"As it has previously with (diseases like) polio, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis."

 

 

Ah yes i remember everyone getting vaccinated against polio and then we all caught polio but luckily our symptoms weren't that bad!

 

What a pathetic comparison.

If you want to find something negativ then you will find it right? Maybe the comparison is a bit simple, but the message here is clear: if you're vaccinated and still get Covid, the symptoms will be significantly less and that's what it is about... don't you think so?