Over 80 COVID-19 BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variant cases found in Thailand to date

[Photoguy21]

There will always be variants, it is what a virus does

[CharlieH]

Reported conspiracy remark removed.

[MrJ2U]

Worrisome that there finding that this variant is more similar to the Delta variant, thus more dangerous to the lungs.

 

Borders, opened or closed, there's no escaping the virus and mutations.  

 

I think Thailand's just been lucky or isn't reporting cases properly. 

[chalawaan]

All strains will be weak as folk in a year, and forgotten, like the common cold thank Christ!

[moogradod]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:24 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

.........................................

BA.4 and BA.5 are the fastest spreading variants reported to date, and they are expected to dominate Covid-19 transmission in the United States, United Kingdom and the rest of Europe within the next few weeks, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control." ............................

Nobody likes to hear this but TallGuyJohnin BKK may well be right. At least it coincides with reports I have read from the European Press.

 

The minimum one should do is to include a wave coming of BA5 (this seems to be becoming the dominant strain) in their future planning B. If nothing serious happens as the wishful thinking of the optimist part of the populace is anticipating - even better. They are as well on the way to develop especially tailored vaccines, but these will not be available for many months. I just got my 4. Booster (Moderna). Does not make me feel too much comfortable, though.

 

And I make myself ready to endure again a bunch of new (old) regulations and restrictions again. At least in my expectation, this helps if it really would become a reality. Lets hope that it does not happen. Do I feel a bit silly if I say this ? Yes, I do.

[bangkok19]

15 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Australia expects these new strains to become dominant and for previously infected people to become infected with these variants. They are very concerned about the new variants affinity for lungs but state that it is still too early to know how bad it will be.

I'm a tad over 65yo and recently had my jab #4 plus the flu shot.

Methinks it'll be wise to keep my mask (at hand) to wear on the train and crowded station and supermarket...  there are so many people coughing around me. Probably the flu, who knows?  When I'm in BKK in 3 weeks time I'm doing the same, even though the temperature will be 20 degrees warmer than here in Oz.

[kiwikeith]

On 6/23/2022 at 9:24 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The second pgh above seems a pretty silly/wrong-headed comment for a medical professional to make.

 

Those newer variants are now here in Thailand. They're easily transmissible and, according to him, tend to attack the lungs and cause more serious symptoms.

 

AFAIK, elsewhere where those 4 and 5 variants have circulated, they tend to overtake the prior Omicron variants.... And I'd assume there's no reason to think the same thing won't also happen here with time.

 

But I guess in his book, you don't worry about a speeding car heading your way until it's already run you over...

 

"BA.4 and BA.5 caused an estimated 35% of new Covid-19 infections in the United States last week, up from 29% the week before, according to data shared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday.

 

BA.4 and BA.5 are the fastest spreading variants reported to date, and they are expected to dominate Covid-19 transmission in the United States, United Kingdom and the rest of Europe within the next few weeks, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control."

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/22/health/ba4-ba5-escape-antibodies-covid-vaccine/index.html

 

And according to the ONS, UK the variants are more infectious but are not causing more severe illness, hospital numbers may take a short increase, due to the shear volume of infections, the good news is death rates are declining as are the numbers in ICU.

[kiwikeith]

6 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Worrisome that there finding that this variant is more similar to the Delta variant, thus more dangerous to the lungs.

 

Borders, opened or closed, there's no escaping the virus and mutations.  

 

I think Thailand's just been lucky or isn't reporting cases properly. 

Can you provide the link to your statement as UK has had Ba4 /5 for some time and it certainly is documented to be more infectious by the ONS, but less severe. 

[david555]

ALSO ALREADY IN EUROPE....

 

Translated from newspaper HLN online from my Home country.... https://www.hln.be/medisch/zomer-dus-daar-is-de-nieuwe-coronagolf-alles-wat-u-moet-weten-over-de-nieuwe-variant-omikron-ba-5~a9796dae/

 

so you know now why i boostered ....for administration in first order, to anticipate for my Sept. Flight... in case of new restrictions ....

 

And this summer touristic travelling nearly begon ????

 

Article;

 

Summer, so there's the new corona wave: everything you need to know about the new variant omikron BA.5

 With just about all indicators — except for the deaths — things are going in the wrong direction.  The health institute Sciensano recorded an average of 2,756 infections per day last week, 46% more than the week before.  The number of hospital admissions rose by a quarter, to 76 per day.  There is more testing and those tests are also more often (one in four) positive.  With a reproduction number of 1.17, the virus is increasing in strength.  The guilty?  Omikron BA.5.  All your questions about this new variant of Covid-19 answered. ( paywall..)

 

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Edited June 24, 2022 by david555

[MrJ2U]

5 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

Can you provide the link to your statement as UK has had Ba4 /5 for some time and it certainly is documented to be more infectious by the ONS, but less severe. 

"BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants are easily transmissible, have the ability to avoid immunity, attack the lungs of patients and have a tendency to cause more serious symptoms than the original Omicron variant."

 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/over-80-covid-19-ba-4-and-ba-5-sub-variant-cases-found-in-thailand-to-date/

 

 

However there is conflicting information saying it's not more severe:

 

"The increasing prevalence of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 is likely to be a factor in the recent increase in cases seen in the UK and elsewhere, though there is currently no evidence that Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 cause more severe illness than previous variants."

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-variants-identified-in-the-uk-latest-updates

 

Either way it's good to keep updated and boosted with ones vaccines if possible.

 

Be safe. 

 

 

 

[Jen65]

On 6/24/2022 at 9:38 AM, AussieinThaiJim said:

There seems to be a over calculated number!!!!!!

now 200 !!

[Paris333]

Portugal discusses renewed mask requirement According to the “Our World in Data” portal, which is operated by Oxford University, 87 percent of the total population have been vaccinated twice and 63 percent have been boosted. This makes Portugal one of the European frontrunners. More than 30,000 infections are currently registered every 24 hours. The main hotspot is the greater Lisbon area. Virologists speak of an "explosion of new infections" and do not rule out that there could soon be 60,000 cases a day. Source:https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/panorama/neuer-coronavirus-subtyp-ba-5-portugal-diskutiert-erneute-maskenpflicht/28382216.html

[Harveyboy]

On 6/23/2022 at 3:10 PM, Boomer6969 said:

Thailand pass to be back no later than August. All entertainment venues will be closed for another year. Domestic travel will require quarantine, etc...

i bloody hope not im our the county  first time in 3 years don't want to get stuck here

[moogradod]

32 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

i bloody hope not im our the county  first time in 3 years don't want to get stuck here

Even worse. Add Monkeypox to the picture. The WHO is currently discussing to give this one the same status as Covid in the beginning: Worldwide Emergency - with all the consequences then. And we know what these are (unfortunately).

[Shocked farang]

On 6/23/2022 at 10:12 AM, ThailandRyan said:

phooey a Monkey pox on ya

Covid is funny and laughable until you catch it yourself... 

[MoneyNo1]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:42 AM, goatfarmer said:

It took me five or six weeks to get back to full strength. The worst was a few days. But mild symptoms and fatigue lingered for weeks.

Hang in there. You'll be back to normal in a week or two. 

Which j ab did you have and were you booster ed? I am p fizered 3 times but will get moderna next one as took me 3 months to recover

[MoneyNo1]

Just now, MoneyNo1 said:

 

 

[MoneyNo1]

1 minute ago, MoneyNo1 said:

 

Hopefully this Christmas we can all be in Thailand enjoying several beers and not worrying about any new variants

[goatfarmer]

19 minutes ago, MoneyNo1 said:

Which j ab did you have and were you booster ed? I am p fizered 3 times but will get moderna next one as took me 3 months to recover

I had two Astra Zenecas. No boost at the time I had covid. I doubt the booster would have made much difference: I've had a couple of friends who were similarly jabbed and boosted. They still got covid and it dragged on for weeks.

[zzaa09]

10 hours ago, Shocked farang said:

Covid is funny and laughable until you catch it yourself... 

......and chances are one suffers little or nothing. The obvious numbers and percentage might tell you this.

[david555]

Now the fact is if you need to fly ....you are under airlines demands ....so just anticipate and keep vaccinated or boosted as you can not act anticipated/retroactive if a sudden covid/ omicron or whatever  new name rules change 

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by david555

[DavisH]

On 6/24/2022 at 7:44 AM, goatfarmer said:

Keep an eye on the number of reported cases and deaths, albeit a lagging indicator, before panicking.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/thailand/

Reported numbers are only those reported to the government via pcr or atk (if you want the medicine kit, it will be reported). But I've had students come down with covid almost daily. Most just stay home and recover, so there is no record of them having covid. Cases could be in the 10's of thousands daily. It's everywhere at the moment. 

[goatfarmer]

25 minutes ago, DavisH said:

Reported numbers are only those reported to the government via pcr or atk (if you want the medicine kit, it will be reported). But I've had students come down with covid almost daily. Most just stay home and recover, so there is no record of them having covid. Cases could be in the 10's of thousands daily. It's everywhere at the moment. 

No doubt. But the trend, not the absolute numbers, is indicative.

[Scouse123]

On 6/24/2022 at 7:10 AM, ThailandRyan said:

is understanding a virus really scaremongering when it is informative information.  The global outlook is what is also informative, much like the annual Flu variants and so on.  If one wishes to travel they should be knowledgable on what they could potentially be infected with, rather than keeping your head stuck in the sand and ignoring whats occurring.  The pandemic and a lot of other issues have combined to create an inflationary issue, and nothing is keeping folks from working if they can find a job.  With that said as we enter into recessions in certain areas people will be laid off from work...enjoy a view of scaremongering when in reality it is far from it.

You care, because you are obviously in a privileged position, about informative information and Thais in Isaarn care about feeding their families.

 

I wont comment further.

[Scouse123]

On 6/26/2022 at 10:24 AM, david555 said:

Now the fact is if you need to fly ....you are under airlines demands ....so just anticipate and keep vaccinated or boosted as you can not act anticipated/retroactive if a sudden covid/ omicron or whatever  new name rules change 

 

 

 

Agree,

But many will not fly at current prices regardless of their vaccinated status.

[david555]

12 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Agree,

But many will not fly at current prices regardless of their vaccinated status.

I am ...that was the main reason to get boostered  i stop living Thailand so ...i don't now what situation i will be in home country by 2 months time ....so i am just anticipating ....

Edited June 28, 2022 by david555

[Scouse123]

11 hours ago, david555 said:

I am ...that was the main reason to get boostered  i stop living Thailand so ...i don't now what situation i will be in home country by 2 months time ....so i am just anticipating ....

I've just paid Qatar £1100 for economy in August for exit row window seats.

 

I aint paying £3500 for business class.

[actonion]

The more you look, the more you find... scare them some more, take some samples from any Thai market stall  and see what comes up  !!

[david555]

6 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

I've just paid Qatar £1100 for economy in August for exit row window seats.

 

I aint paying £3500 for business class.

7 March i booked straight online Klm to Amserdam and included further Thalys ticket to Antwerp Belgium for 12443 Thai baht , and 1305 thb for a seat in a row of 2...( last seat in the back of plane ....hope nobody like to pay extra to sit next to me , had that luck once already ????)

so final with cardcost taxes and fees a total of 14498 Thb

Now prices doubled . Some dates tripled and some even only expensive tickets ....lucky early booking to fly 1 Sept. ????

Edited June 29, 2022 by david555