Additional booster shots recommended against COVID BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants

[snoop1130]

Medical workers load syringes with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP)

 

A senior Thai doctor has warned people not to underestimate the threat posed by the COVID-19 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and has recommended additional booster shots, claiming that they can help ease serious consequences of infection by the mutated virus.

 

Professor Dr. Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, said today (Monday) that, although there is no clear evidence proving that the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants can cause more serious symptoms, there have been reports that the they transmit faster and are beginning to overtake the current BA.2 sub-variant.

 

He said that more booster shots could help protect people from infection by the new sub-variants, as he advised thosewho have received three vaccine doses to receive a fourth dose and frontline medical staff to receive a fifth shot.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/additional-booster-shots-recommended-against-covid-ba-4-and-ba-5-sub-variants/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-06-27

 

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[ourmanflint]

Wife has just caught Covid after being in Thailand for 4 days, never had it before in UK, another friend also caught covid whilst in Thailand. Seems it is rife over there at the moment

[twix38]

I just had Moderna as my 4th - 2nd booster. Astra Zenica twice then pfizer last Nov and Moderna a week ago. However, I've been in uk past 2 1/2 years and flying to thailand in a weeks time. Hopefully well protected. Not had covid so far. Feel I'm  bound to catch it on plane or in Thailand but reassured I'm as protected as possible from hospitalization, long covid or death. Vaccination wise at least, I'm sure glad I've been in UK. Good NHS early and free roll out programme. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by twix38

[GeorgeCross]

6 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

Wife has just caught Covid after being in Thailand for 4 days, never had it before in UK, another friend also caught covid whilst in Thailand. Seems it is rife over there at the moment

have covid at the moment, so does my wife. i'd say there is more covid around now than there was at the "peak". back then i'd struggle to name a single person who'd had it.

that we know of right now.. cleaners whole family have it, 2 of wifes friends, 2 build crews we know, pool guys had it last week, list goes on and on. thing is no-one is bothering to report it anymore unless getting really sick so job done, low numbers, tourism back on track.

going to be interesting when those flights start returning to china!

 

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, twix38 said:

Not had covid so far. Feel I'm  bound to catch it on plane or in Thailand but reassured I'm as protected as possible from hospitalization, long covid or death.

You'll laugh once you've had it, I did, thought it was a head cold, whole family had it, not bad at all, lots of friends had it and some do now, some in their 70's, water off a ducks back as the old saying goes, and they have flogged this horse for far too long IMO. 

 

Just enjoy yourself as if it didn't exists as it's coming to a place near you ????

Edited June 27, 2022 by 4MyEgo

[Bangkok Barry]

9 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

Wife has just caught Covid after being in Thailand for 4 days, never had it before in UK, another friend also caught covid whilst in Thailand. Seems it is rife over there at the moment

Nearly everyone my wife knows here has had Covid. Only one has been very ill, and she also has cancer which might well be a factor in that - pre-exisiting conditions.

I'll probably wander along to my local village hospital for a 4th shot, because it's easy and free so why not?

[Eaglekott]

5 hours ago, Toany said:

 

 

Symptoms from Covid is mild if you are Vaccinated, so there is a catch 22. If you are not vaccinated there is a risk you get severe sick and can even die from it.  Easy choice. I have not heard any of all my friends that got vaccinated that had any serious side effects.

[steven100]

geeeze .....   I'm not a bloody pin cushion      !

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by steven100

[NanLaew]

13 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

Wife has just caught Covid after being in Thailand for 4 days, never had it before in UK, another friend also caught covid whilst in Thailand. Seems it is rife over there at the moment

Just heard on the radio how the UK's Covid infection (R rate) has just gone back over 1.0 again.

 

• 24 June 2022

  The R range for England is 1.1 to 1.4 and the growth rate range for England is +2% to +5% per day as of 24 June 2022.

• 27 May 2022

  The R range for England is 0.7 to 0.9 and the growth rate range for England is -4% to -2% per day as of 27 May 2022.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-r-value-and-growth-rate

 

I blame Glastonbury!

[ourmanflint]

1 hour ago, Eaglekott said:

Symptoms from Covid is mild if you are Vaccinated, so there is a catch 22. If you are not vaccinated there is a risk you get severe sick and can even die from it.  Easy choice. I have not heard any of all my friends that got vaccinated that had any serious side effects.

So very true. A school friend of my wife died from covid about a month ago, he worked as a chemist (druggist) but refused to have a vaccine. He was 50 and otherwise healthy

Edited June 28, 2022 by ourmanflint

[khunPer]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Is anyone really sick? Any hospitalizations required? It does seem to be far milder and not a big deal for most people. 

 

The new variants are a non factor, until proven otherwise. No proof they are more troublesome than Omi yet. Worry about the stuff we can control.

I got it almost a month ago after more tourists were allowed in, and thereby more crowded in Samui's still low-level party life. I'm fully AZ-vaccinated with a Pfizer booster-jab, which was almost five moth old when Covid hit me. Not really sick, hardly one day with light fever, but tired for a while thereafter. Of course I stayed isolated for almost two weeks. They recommend second booster six month after the first, so might be that booster-protection was low; or might be that numerous vaccines protects one from serious illness; or might be that vaccine don't work at all agaist the new variants, and might therefore be that Covid is no longer anything to care much about...????

 

Anyway I got my second booster exactly six month after the first, thank you Thailand for taking care of an alien like me...

 

As to Worldometer today, total deaths in Thailand from the Covid pandemic - now totaling little more than two years - are 30,623.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by onthedarkside
text associated with invalid/broken weblink removed

[spidermike007]

54 minutes ago, khunPer said:

I got it almost a month ago after more tourists were allowed in, and thereby more crowded in Samui's still low-level party life. I'm fully AZ-vaccinated with a Pfizer booster-jab, which was almost five moth old when Covid hit me. Not really sick, hardly one day with light fever, but tired for a while thereafter. Of course I stayed isolated for almost two weeks. They recommend second booster six month after the first, so might be that booster-protection was low; or might be that numerous vaccines protects one from serious illness; or might be that vaccine don't work at all agaist the new variants, and might therefore be that Covid is no longer anything to care much about...????

 

Anyway I got my second booster exactly six month after the first, thank you Thailand for taking care of an alien like me...

 

 

As to Worldometer today, total deaths in Thailand from the Covid pandemic - now totaling little more than two years - are 30,623.

 

Considering there are about 563,000 deaths a year in Thailand, that number seems quite minor for 27 months and counting. Who knows how many "covid deaths" were people over 70, people who had a serious disease, and illness, people who may have died anyway. We will likely never know. That is NOT information they want us to have. Yet, so much panic. So much "life interrupted". So many sabotaged businesses, and way too many decimated lives. Totally unjustified in my book. 

[swm59nj]

Just because certain individuals have had Covid and say it was nothing bad.  Does not mean it won’t be serious for other people.  The seriousness goes by medical studies.  Not by individuals

[khunPer]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Considering there are about 563,000 deaths a year in Thailand, that number seems quite minor for 27 months and counting. Who knows how many "covid deaths" were people over 70, people who had a serious disease, and illness, people who may have died anyway. We will likely never know. That is NOT information they want us to have. Yet, so much panic. So much "life interrupted". So many sabotaged businesses, and way too many decimated lives. Totally unjustified in my book. 

Yes, many - if not most - elder people with underlying illness.

 

There has been a few cases on Samui with death connected to Covid-19 positive. Except one all were elder people with underlying illness, diabetes in every case. We don't know if it was Covid-19 that caused the death or they just happened to be Covid-19 positive when dying. Same seems to be the cases many places, same discussion in my Danish home country and neighboring Nordic states.

 

Don't forget that WHO is political and might have a benefit from declaring pandemic. And WHO and various government might also be criticized if they had not declared pandemic.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by onthedarkside
long out-of-date stats on COVID mortality removed

[Lemsta69]

9 hours ago, twix38 said:

I just had Moderna as my 4th - 2nd booster. Astra Zenica twice then pfizer last Nov and Moderna a week ago. However, I've been in uk past 2 1/2 years and flying to thailand in a weeks time. Hopefully well protected. Not had covid so far. Feel I'm  bound to catch it on plane or in Thailand but reassured I'm as protected as possible from hospitalization, long covid or death. Vaccination wise at least, I'm sure glad I've been in UK. Good NHS early and free roll out programme. 

existing vaccines don't protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants according to some sources. would post the link here but CNBF trying to figure out if it's verboten or not.

[khunPer]

26 minutes ago, swm59nj said:

Just because certain individuals have had Covid and say it was nothing bad.  Does not mean it won’t be serious for other people.  The seriousness goes by medical studies.  Not by individuals

Yes, you are absolutely right, however the medical studies says the same, i.e. milder illness with less deaths compared to number os registered positive cases...

 

Daily deaths in Thailand...

vs daily cases in Thailand...

[Stubby]

8 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

existing vaccines don't protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants according to some sources. would post the link here but CNBF trying to figure out if it's verboten or not.

If that's true, Lemsta69, that would suggest the fully vaccinated/boosted have now joined the ranks of the unvaccinated. In other words, no one is protected against COVID19 as it currently stands. It's possible, I guess.

[twix38]

Yes, existing vaccines are not tailored to new sub variant, but it's not true, as they DO still provide a general immune protection response even so and should allow for a hospital and death free experience. Bottom line, that's all I'm really concerned about and its well protected even by current vaccines if up to booster stage and certainly for my 4 mixed shots. I'm not concerned at variant as vaccine will still be effective even if reduced and mixing is good.....2 Astrazenica. 1 Pfizer. 1 Moderna. Best I can do. Thanks UK NHS. ????

 

Heck, it's even the core content of this news article....

Medical workers load syringes with the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP)

 

A senior Thai doctor has warned people not to underestimate the threat posed by the COVID-19 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and has recommended additional booster shots, claiming that they can help ease serious consequences of infection by the mutated virus.

Edited June 28, 2022 by twix38
Update info

[John Drake]

Three is enough. Not going to do four within a year, unless they require it for immigration. Then, I would opt for AZ. No mRNA at all.

[phetphet]

Had 3 jabs. 2 x AZ, and last one 1 x Pfizer booster on 26/12/21. Still caught Covid over Songkran.

 

The advice I read said don't vaccinate for six months after any infection. So I will not bother looking into it until October earliest. Even then, I will see how the situation is before considering another booster.

[The Hammer2021]

Where can we get them?

[twix38]

Agree with the gap 3 months minimum and up to 6+ months between vaccines  that's why I had my 2nd booster last week as previous booster in November 2021. Over 6 months ago

[jacko45k]

21 hours ago, steven100 said:

geeeze .....   I'm not a bloody pin cushion      !

 

 

 

 

 

My last, the booster (#3), bloody hurt, and was sore for a long time after, maybe over a month. I felt it had been applied too deep and gone beyond the muscle. There and then, I thought, that's it, if 3 ain't enough, it is a waste of time!

[AgentSmith]

On 6/28/2022 at 5:03 AM, twix38 said:

I just had Moderna as my 4th - 2nd booster. Astra Zenica twice then pfizer last Nov and Moderna a week ago. However, I've been in uk past 2 1/2 years and flying to thailand in a weeks time. Hopefully well protected. Not had covid so far. Feel I'm  bound to catch it on plane or in Thailand but reassured I'm as protected as possible from hospitalization, long covid or death. Vaccination wise at least, I'm sure glad I've been in UK. Good NHS early and free roll out programme. 

Not to cause any alarm but recent reports say vaccination doesn't protect much against long covid. Vaccinated people don't get sick from covid but can still get long covid symptoms. But don't take my word for it. I'm sure you can find some info about it yourself.

 

Will be interesting to know what long covid really is. They tend to call it post covid now. Research is probably gonna take years though. I wouldn't count on new treatments anytime soon.

[The Hammer2021]

On 6/28/2022 at 5:35 AM, GeorgeCross said:

have covid at the moment, so does my wife. i'd say there is more covid around now than there was at the "peak". back then i'd struggle to name a single person who'd had it.

that we know of right now.. cleaners whole family have it, 2 of wifes friends, 2 build crews we know, pool guys had it last week, list goes on and on. thing is no-one is bothering to report it anymore unless getting really sick so job done, low numbers, tourism back on track.

going to be interesting when those flights start returning to china!

 

China aren't  coming  here soon. Yes. You're  right  about more/ as many people  having it now

[The Hammer2021]

Where to get the 4th booster here in Pattaya?

[hotchilli]

On 6/27/2022 at 8:16 PM, snoop1130 said:

A senior Thai doctor has warned people not to underestimate the threat posed by the COVID-19 Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants and has recommended additional booster shots, claiming that they can help ease serious consequences of infection by the mutated virus.

But not stop it as Anutin found out.