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New COVID Sub-variant KP.2 on the Rise in Thailand

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  • Mike Lister
    Mike Lister

    You can doubt what you want but we visited Bangkok last week and contracted the new strain on what appears to be the first day. Even with antivirals, we've both been extremely sick for several days an

  • milesinnz
    milesinnz

    I wonder if AIDS had occurred in a time of mass media and the Internet, if it would have been dismissed in the vein as people dismiss COVID ? In terms of fear.. the world is consumed by fear.. there i

  • AsiaTraveler1234
    AsiaTraveler1234

    Unless your mask is N95 or better, my understanding is that masks do not prevent you from getting COVID but rather from spreading it to others.

Posted Images

9 minutes ago, rattlesnake said:

 

Your inability to explain your rationale is duly noted.

Easy to explain but hard for covid deniers to accept

3 minutes ago, SenorTashi said:

I'll just go with what you said.. 'Not going to waste my time'.

I very rarely bother with covid conversations because all you guys think you know it all

and the rest of us know you don't and it's always just a boring stalemate

Again. Hard to have intelligent conversations with covid deniers. Put up a link backing your statement, or it's not true.

On 6/18/2024 at 7:05 AM, Roo Island said:

Many ignore those who survived but struggle for years with long covid. It's not just about deaths.

At least 1 person decided not to struggle for years with long covid. Most people don't have the resources of an American CEO too.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/21/texas-roadhouse-founder-kent-taylor-dies-at-65-after-taking-life-following-post-covid-struggle-.html

On 6/17/2024 at 9:11 AM, Mike Lister said:

 

 

In all fairness, my last shot was exactly one year ago and by all accounts, ineffective against the current variants.

 

Ive had none and seems to effective against all variants !

Just now, Ralf001 said:

 

Ive had none and seems to effective against all variants !

How old are you Ralf?

11 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

How old are you Ralf?

younger than many on here !

Just now, Ralf001 said:

younger than many on here !

So if you're younger you're expected to have a stronger immune system, in which case why brag that you haven't caught covid, despite not being vaccinated! 

1 minute ago, Mike Lister said:

So if you're younger you're expected to have a stronger immune system, in which case why brag that you haven't caught covid, despite not being vaccinated! 

 

Younger as in the average age on this forum is 60+

So what's the current availability in Thailand (and Isaan/Surin in particular) of shots for the latest variant(s) of covid?

 

(I'm 75 & had 2 shots in middle of the first round of variants. Have had covid twice - 1st very mild, over in 3 days; 2nd more notable - coughing & tired  - over 2 weeks. My b/f age 35 had similar experience both times.)

29 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Yeah I know many that have had the vax's.. and many that have not have.

 

The not have peeps have not had covid....... go figure.

 

Yeah, and the cohort of people you supposedly "know", whatever number that may be, is most certainly not any kind of statistically or scientifically meaningful sample.

 

Unlike the following, based on a U.S. CDC study of fall 2023 COVID hospitalizations:

 

"COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of symptomatic disease and hospitalization by about 50% compared to people not up to date on vaccination.

...

Among adults with COVID-19-associated hospitalizations during October–November 2023, over 95% had not received an updated (2023–2024) COVID-19 vaccine, and most (70%) had also not received an updated vaccine from the previous year (2022–2023)."

 

Screenshot_12.jpg.581cdfcae3fa6082761beb9308431f8a.jpg

 

https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/background/index.html#:~:text=Over 95% of adults hospitalized,of receiving the latest vaccine

 

 

12 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

So what's the current availability in Thailand (and Isaan/Surin in particular) of shots for the latest variant(s) of covid?

 

(I'm 75 & had 2 shots in middle of the first round of variants. Have had covid twice - 1st very mild, over in 3 days; 2nd more notable - coughing & tired  - over 2 weeks. My b/f age 35 had similar experience both times.)

 

The updated XBB variant COVID vaccine (only Pfizer) is available at at least several locations around Bangkok on a pay for service basis (no longer provided by the Thai government for free).

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1323285-new-pfizer-covid-xbb-vaccines-finally-become-available-in-thailand-–-for-a-price/

 

Outside of Bangkok, you might call the Ministry of Public Health's COVID hotline at 1422 and see if they have any COVID vaccination locations available for your particular locale.

 

There will be a new version of the COVID vaccines rolled out in the West (U.S., U.K., etc.) this coming fall aimed at the currently circulating COVID variants. With the current XBB vaccines, if that's any comparable experience, their availability in Thailand came about 6 months later after their launch in the West.

 

10 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Yeah, and the cohort of people you supposedly "know", whatever number that may be, is most certainly not any kind of statistically or scientifically meaningful sample.

 

Unlike the following, based on a U.S. CDC study of fall 2023 to spring 2024 COVID hospitalizations:

 

"COVID-19 vaccination reduces the risk of symptomatic disease and hospitalization by about 50% compared to people not up to date on vaccination.

...

Among adults with COVID-19-associated hospitalizations during October–November 2023, over 95% had not received an updated (2023–2024) COVID-19 vaccine, and most (70%) had also not received an updated vaccine from the previous year (2022–2023)."

 

Screenshot_12.jpg.581cdfcae3fa6082761beb9308431f8a.jpg

 

https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/background/index.html#:~:text=Over 95% of adults hospitalized,of receiving the latest vaccine

 

 

 

Meh at US CDC study.

I do not live there.

16 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

The updated XBB variant COVID vaccine (only Pfizer) is available at at least several locations around Bangkok on a pay for service basis (no longer provided by the Thai government for free).

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1323285-new-pfizer-covid-xbb-vaccines-finally-become-available-in-thailand-–-for-a-price/

 

Outside of Bangkok, you might call the Ministry of Public Health's COVID hotline at 1422 and see if they have any COVID vaccination locations available for your particular locale.

 

There will be a new version of the COVID vaccines rolled out in the West (U.S., U.K., etc.) this coming fall aimed at the currently circulating COVID variants. With the current XBB vaccines, if that's any comparable experience, their availability in Thailand came about 6 months later after their launch in the West.

 

Thanks for that. I think on that basis we'll sit tight for a while on the vaccines, perhaps follow up as you suggest towards the end of this year. Meantime we'll start wearing masks again whenever in an enclosed space (eg shopping at Lotus), though recognizing that masks are more about 'offence' than 'defence'.

5 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Thanks for that. I think on that basis we'll sit tight for a while on the vaccines, perhaps follow up as you suggest towards the end of this year. Meantime we'll start wearing masks again whenever in an enclosed space (eg shopping at Lotus), though recognizing that masks are more about 'offence' than 'defence'.

 

If you're wearing a legit N95 respirator mask, they're pretty good at defense as well, at least during the times when you actually wear them.

 

What doctors wish patients knew about wearing N95 masks

Jun 24, 2022

 

"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians and other health professionals have continued to stress the everyday necessity and importance of wearing masks to protect against the spread of SARS-CoV-2. While reusable cloth masks have been recommended until recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other experts acknowledge N95, KN95 or KF94 masks provide the most protection when in public indoor spaces given how transmissible the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is. 

...

In fact, N95 and KN95 masks were found to be 48% more effective than surgical or cloth masks, according to a CDC study. Wearing an N95 or KN95 mask reduces the odds of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by 83%. This is compared with 66% for surgical masks and 56% for cloth masks, further pushing the need to swap out such face coverings for an N95 or KN95 mask for protection from SARS-CoV-2.

 

https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-wearing-n95-masks

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Thanks for that. I think on that basis we'll sit tight for a while on the vaccines,

 

Worth mentioning, new weekly COVID hospitalizations right now in Thailand are at their highest level in the past year. If this year follows the pattern from last year, those will begin falling / reducing as we move into this fall and toward the end of the year.

 

 

 

On 6/17/2024 at 6:28 AM, Ben Zioner said:

Maybe our days we would be able to prevent AIDS to spread amongst the normal population?

"For decades, researchers have tried to craft a successful vaccine for HIV. mRNA vaccines may offer the answer."

https://www.drugdiscoverynews.com/an-mrna-twist-to-the-hiv-vaccine-problem-15743

 

"Encouraging First-in-Human Results for a Promising HIV Vaccine"

 

https://www.hiv.gov/blog/encouraging-first-in-human-results-for-a-promising-hiv-vaccine

 

On 6/19/2024 at 4:49 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

A study from the same Stanford Univ. professor who predicted early on that the COVID pandemic would only cause 10,000 deaths in the U.S. -- with the actual number ending up at 1.2 million!

 

so what ? totally irrelevant to the point the poster was trying to make. 

 

1.2 million still fits into the numbers the poster presented to you. which brings us full circle back to his original point that the chances of dying from covid was always very small. as the backed percentages show us. 

FYI I haven't seen so many "N95 masks" packed in China Town! During SARS, MERS, last "pandemic" years. Now it is massive manufacturing of fake masks - mind blowing!

9 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Worth mentioning, new weekly COVID hospitalizations right now in Thailand are at their highest level in the past year. If this year follows the pattern from last year, those will begin falling / reducing as we move into this fall and toward the end of the year.

 

also worth mentioning, although the hospitalizations are at a high level. deaths are not. they have flatlined and/or dropped. 

 

this is so important. 

17 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

also worth mentioning, although the hospitalizations are at a high level. deaths are not. they have flatlined and/or dropped. 

 

this is so important. 

 

And yet about 300 people per week are still dying from COVID in the U.S., where they actually do a diligent job of assessing and reporting causes of death. Yes, that number is much down from what it has been in the past. But 300 per week is not insignificant. And add onto that another more than 100 every week in the UK:

 

Screenshot_13.jpg.8e5f94914d313332209b41b965005608.jpg

 

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00

 

 

Screenshot_14.jpg.c9f7b8049ce804ede551fb152ef28c19.jpg

 

https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/

 

 

The global COVID death toll even now continues to slowly creep higher week after week, no matter how many posters here try to deny or deflect from it.

 

 

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

And yet about 300 people per week are still dying from COVID in the U.S.

 

start a thread about covid deaths in the US then. this is a thread on covid in thailand. this is what i replied to. not US death numbers.

 

30 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Worth mentioning, new weekly COVID hospitalizations right now in Thailand are at their highest level in the past year. If this year follows the pattern from last year, those will begin falling / reducing as we move into this fall and toward the end of the year.

 

21 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

FYI I haven't seen so many "N95 masks" packed in China Town! During SARS, MERS, last "pandemic" years. Now it is massive manufacturing of fake masks - mind blowing!

 

People can still source and buy legitimate N95 masks these days, though it's probably earlier to source them from suppliers in places like the U.S. than in Thailand, where Chinese fakes are rampant.

 

One good thing about the decline of COVID deaths and hospitalizations globally in recent months, and the lifting last year of the COVID emergency declarations, is that N95 supplies are more readily available than they were earlier during the peaks of the pandemic.

 

29 minutes ago, stoner said:

start a thread about covid deaths in the US then. this is a thread on covid in thailand. this is what i replied to. not US death numbers.

 

 

One might legitimately wonder why given that Thailand and the UK both have roughly the same size populations, that the UK reported 139 COVID deaths caused primarily or at least partially by COVID for the most recent week, and Thailand only reported 7 -- and that official week-to-week COVID death figures here haven't increased at all even while weekly COVID hospitalizations here have increased five-fold.

 

Perhaps the doctors in Thailand have found some magical treatment that keeps patients hospitalized for COVID and/or listed in serious condition with COVID -- numbers that have increased dramatically here in recent months -- from dying that isn't known or available to doctors in the UK?

 

Or, could it possibly be instead that the Thai MoPH decided much earlier in the pandemic that they were only going to count COVID deaths as those that occurred due to respiratory complications, and apparently ignore everything else when it came to COVID death reporting? And perhaps that the Thai government in general isn't anxious to give potential tourists the idea that people are still getting sick and dying from COVID here.

 

"Anutin said the meeting discussed that when patients died while they were on a ventilator and died of lung inflammation caused by Covid-19 virus, they could be classified as Covid-19 deaths."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40013255

 

In reality, over the life of the pandemic, COVID is a disease that triggers all kinds of different systemic health issues in people, various of which also can and have proved to be fatal.

 

 

 

 

@TallGuyJohninBKK indeed! I ordered a bulk at Ebay from 3M. I'd say it is quite hard to breathe as N95 are for short time usage, not for a whole day. Also those are costly (

btw, they made fakes here, almost everywhere.

Just now, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

One might legitimately wonder why given that Thailand and the UK both have roughly the same size populations, that the UK reported 139 COVID deaths caused primarily or at least partially by COVID for the most recent week, and Thailand only reported 7.

 

you might....most don't. 

 

 

I wonder what is SiamBioTech doing?

Why Thai Universities are closing down faculties? (don't ask, I have first hand info) even Thammasat?

What's left? 

  • Chula
  • Mahidoll
  • KMUTT
  • Kasetsat

for the country of almost 70 millions? Seriously?

Oh, there's something in Chiang Mai Uni 

That's all

PS: picture taken from Tammasat this spring: sleeping village.

tammasat_biotech.jpg

22 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

I wonder what is SiamBioTech doing?

 

There's been some talk and industry posts lately on a supposed COVID vaccine that's being developed/tested here in Thailand (with involvement of Mahidol University) that the Thai GPO might produce at some point....  But the one they've been testing apparently was one aimed at older variants, not the currently circulating ones. So no clear idea what if anything will come from all that.

 

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abo2847

 

An inactivated NDV-HXP-S COVID-19 vaccine elicits a higher proportion of neutralizing antibodies in humans than mRNA vaccination

 
15 Feb 2023
 
Together, these data highlight the promise of NDV-HXP-S, which has moved into a Phase III trial in Thailand.
 
---------------------------------------------------------
 
 
--------------------------------
 
Last time I checked, there still hadn't been any peer-reviewed journal article published reporting the final results of the above referenced Phase III trial on that vaccine candidate.
 
The Bangkok Post reported in Sept 2023 that the abovementioned vaccine could be ready for use as a booster "early next year" -- meaning early 2024. But since then......
 
 
 

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