News Forum - Thailand News Today | Thailand no longer considers Covid “dangerous infectious disease”

[Stevejm]

39 minutes ago, Smithydog said:

So you acknowledge mask wearing occurred in Asia before Covid-19. Why should it then stop now just to satisfy your desire?

In a country of 70 million, by your calculations 700,000 expressed a right to wear a mask in Thailand. And that is only the ones your limited vision saw. Did you personally do a census pre-covid to calculate your numbers to share with us all?

If we choose to have a discussion on mask wearing, then at least let it be on levels of personal choice, the challenges of enforcement of a mandate if one exists, and the scientific benefit of wearing one or not, rather than some ludicrous numbers seemingly pulled out of a part of the human anatomy where the sun doesn't shine!

As the government mandate has gone we could just simplify it to it being a matter of individual choice and we shouldn’t vilify people for deciding to wear or not wear a mask whatever their reasons for wearing or not wearing one are. Some businesses/ buildings/ services may require masks as a condition of entry but we can always choose not to enter or use the service. The removal of government mandates and the latest government messaging downplaying the seriousness of the virus in the current situation where most people are vaccinated are the key facts which are positive steps towards returning to normality and we should be positive about that IMO

[Faz]

A post inferring facts without a supporting URL has been removed.

Moderator.

[Janneman]

1 hour ago, DesperateOldHand said:

I understand that a polio strain is making a comeback. 

Already been identified in NYC - this week. 

Never know about nature and what she might have up her sleeve. 

Yea just wait for something as contagious as Covid, and as mortal as Marburg. Or Ebola. That would solve a lot of environmental problems.

[Marc26]

10 hours ago, Stevejm said:

Actually I was replying to @ronnie666 with my previous comment but you jumped in on it. Crossed wires!

No worries 

I'm 18 years in and still don't have half a clue what the Thais are up to 5555

[Marc26]

4 hours ago, Metoo said:

After 100 years of military rule, and the threat of 112, the Thais are naturally a frightened bunch.

The general education level is woeful.

They are too scared to remove them, also in the belief that covid will disappear eventually.....unfortunately for them.....

I live in Vancouver Canada

One of the most Asian populated cities in the world, outside of Asia

 

90% of the people wearing masks still are Asian, of all types

 

Pre-covid, mask wearing was done almost exclusively by Asians

So it's only natural that Asians would he the ones to wear masks out of the pandemic 

 

Why anyone cares is bizarre 

[longwood50]

On 8/14/2022 at 3:54 PM, Stevejm said:

Do you think that vaccination and improved treatment might have helped

There are more cases now than when they put the draconian measures into place.  There really is no "improved treament"  it is a virus and just like a common cold it just takes time to recover from.  What has changed is that it has finally dawned on them is that there is precious little impact with all of the measures with the exception that it kills the economy.  That should have been self evident from the beginning.  Countries are unable to stop the spread of most diseases certainly those that are virus based.  What gave them the idea that somehow if they could not stop things like TB, the Flu, the common cold, from entering Thailand that "this time will be different." 

 

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, longwood50 said:

There are more cases now than when they put the draconian measures into place.  There really is no "improved treament"  it is a virus and just like a common cold it just takes time to recover from.  What has changed is that it has finally dawned on them is that there is precious little impact with all of the measures with the exception that it kills the economy.  That should have been self evident from the beginning.  Countries are unable to stop the spread of most diseases certainly those that are virus based.  What gave them the idea that somehow if they could not stop things like TB, the Flu, the common cold, from entering Thailand that "this time will be different." 

So you don’t think vaccinations have helped? I know people who caught the virus before being vaccinated and people who caught it after vaccination and the former had much more severe symptoms and extended illness than the latter. What evidence do you have to say that there are more cases now than previously? Cases were actually very low in Thailand compared to other countries in the initial outbreak until Delta came along.The measures imposed in Thailand weren’t as draconian as many other countries like UK where the whole country was locked down. However UK didn’t take it seriously initially and tried to get out of trouble by vaccination.Anyway mandatory measures have been dropped now and the government is making statements towards encouraging people do deal with it in the same way as flu etc. so that’s positive. UK is finding that 95% of the population now have antibodies either from vaccination or previous infection so hopefully it will be a minor impact on people who get infected in the future.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights/antibodies

[Vigo]

On 8/14/2022 at 4:02 PM, PhuketExpat said:

Hi all, I’m new around here. The tone here seems to be quite combative, the “Pick-a-Side” skit by JP Sears comes to mind. (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXM6RMissmI )

The search for truth should be an ongoing endeavor and being skeptical these days is more important than ever. Whether it is covid or politics, it seems like the lines have already been well drawn in the sand here in these forums, maybe this will help refine it further.

A short Quiz:

1)      Do you believe what elected officials, government spokespersons, or three letter agency experts tell you is true all of, or even most of the time?

2)      Do you get most of the information you use to make judgements concerning current world situations from the MSM (Mainstream Media)?

3)      Do you believe that scientific trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies are conducted fairly and without bias?

4)      Do you believe that agencies such as the FDA, CDC, or NIH (or most similar  non-US based agencies) are working in the public’s interest and are to be trusted?

5)      Do you believe that the vaccines used in the recent pandemic are “safe and effective”?

If you answered YES to all of the above questions, take heart, you are in the majority, and this will no doubt make you feel warm all over. If you answered NO to all of the questions, congratulations, you have a working brain. Unfortunately you will also be trolled and vilified, called an anti-vaxxer, or much worse. If you answered NO to some of the questions, perhaps you should think more about the others. Just a thought

Hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been administered with the result that the western sourced Covid vaccines are some of the safest in the history of vaccines . the claims of mass die offs, of complications, of autism etc. were all disproven. The expected benefits have however been much better than expected. The clinical trials for the vaccines were conducted over a decade starting with the first SARS epidemic and have been so diverse and so variously conducted that your insinuation of a "fix" is nonsense.

You are not being sceptical when you cast suspicion of the motives of the NIH, CDC, EU HA, Japan PHA, Australia Health, Canada Health government agencies. On the contrary you are promoting malicious sabotage that undermines the stability of these nations and mirrors the activities of the Russian and Chinese spy agencies which sought to sabotage the early  vaccine efforts by spreading falsehoods.  Your  intentionally false narrative promoted with the excuse of "questioning" or "scepticism" doesn't hold and the majority of the population who were vaccinated and liberated from the worst of the disease aren't buying the nonsense anymore. they spoke with the rolled up sleeves.

[ThaiFoodGuy]

2 hours ago, Vigo said:

the claims of mass die offs, of complications, of autism etc. were all disproven

The CDC itself has a website dedicated to aggregating and reporting adverse reactions from vaccines, including COVID vaccines:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

Your claim that complications have been disproven is ridiculous.

[Stevejm]

7 hours ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

The CDC itself has a website dedicated to aggregating and reporting adverse reactions from vaccines, including COVID vaccines:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

Your claim that complications have been disproven is ridiculous.

That website that you provided a link to actually disproves your contention as it reports that complications are extremely rare and that the benefits of the vaccines far outweigh the potential risks. Whilst you appear to be disagreeing with @Vigo you actually provided evidence that his claim that the vaccines are some of the safest ever developed is in fact correct. Thank you.

[PhuketExpat]

16 hours ago, Vigo said:

Hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been administered with the result that the western sourced Covid vaccines are some of the safest in the history of vaccines . the claims of mass die offs, of complications, of autism etc. were all disproven. The expected benefits have however been much better than expected. The clinical trials for the vaccines were conducted over a decade starting with the first SARS epidemic and have been so diverse and so variously conducted that your insinuation of a "fix" is nonsense.

You are not being sceptical when you cast suspicion of the motives of the NIH, CDC, EU HA, Japan PHA, Australia Health, Canada Health government agencies. On the contrary you are promoting malicious sabotage that undermines the stability of these nations and mirrors the activities of the Russian and Chinese spy agencies which sought to sabotage the early  vaccine efforts by spreading falsehoods.  Your  intentionally false narrative promoted with the excuse of "questioning" or "scepticism" doesn't hold and the majority of the population who were vaccinated and liberated from the worst of the disease aren't buying the nonsense anymore. they spoke with the rolled up sleeves.

Let me count the ways... Nah... better not bother, your mind is made up so won't waste my time. Good luck with that! Will check back in a year or so and we'll see what has been "proved" by then.

Mark Twain wrote, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

[longwood50]

21 hours ago, Stevejm said:

So you don’t think vaccinations have helped?

I think the vaccinations "may" have helped reduce the severity of the disease not its transmission.  One way or another there are far far far more incidence of covid in Thailand at present than when the government started to impose mask mandates, quarantines, public gathering bans, and restrictions to enter Thailand. 
 

 

This was in (2020), 89 cases triggered a lockdown Now 2,000 cases a day are not a problem. 

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by Faz
2 images removed in breach of FG's.

[Marc26]

Well of course that would not have anything to do with a much more deadly variant in 2020, than what is currently spreading

Not at all.....

Edited August 16, 2022 by Faz
removed quoted image.

[Stevejm]

4 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Well of course that would not have anything to do with a much more deadly variant in 2020, than what is currently spreading

Not at all.....

Also nobody had been vaccinated!

[Stevejm]

19 minutes ago, longwood50 said:

I think the vaccinations "may" have helped reduce the severity of the disease not its transmission

Do you think? The impact on vaccination on transmission is impossible to judge because it was done in parallel with other measures. I remember that in the early days the number of cases found in foreign arrivals was significant compared to the local cases then they closed the borders completely. Reopening only happened when vaccinations were available and significant testing was required. Isn’t the point now that the government has dropped almost all restrictions/ mandates and is encouraging people to live with a virus that is now objectively less dangerous due to a successful vaccination campaign and less serious variants being prevalent?

[Stevejm]

51 minutes ago, PhuketExpat said:

Let me count the ways... Nah... better not bother, your mind is made up so won't waste my time. Good luck with that! Will check back in a year or so and we'll see what has been "proved" by then.

Mark Twain wrote, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

What’s your point?

[Faz]

15 hours ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

The CDC itself has a website dedicated to aggregating and reporting adverse reactions from vaccines, including COVID vaccines:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

Your claim that complications have been disproven is ridiculous.

We've already been down this road, and you fail to note the disclaimer to the VAERS reporting system.

When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.

A report to VAERS generally does not prove that the identified vaccine(s) caused the adverse event described. It only confirms that the reported event occurred sometime after vaccine was given. No proof that the event was caused by the vaccine is required in order for VAERS to accept the report. VAERS accepts all reports without judging whether the event was caused by the vaccine.

https://vaers.hhs.gov/data/dataguide.html

The topic isn't about VAERS.
Further, off-topic posts will be removed.

[ThaiFoodGuy]

1 hour ago, Faz said:

The topic isn't about VAERS.
Further, off-topic posts will be removed.

Thanks @Faz, I like how you go after the disclaimer on VAERS to insinuate that using VAERS to demonstrate that there are risks associated with vaccinations is somehow incorrect, but you soar past @Stevejm's claim that complications have been disproven (a factual claim), requiring absolutely no evidence, links, sources, anything to support such a ridiculous statement.

The topic isn't about VAERS, absolutely, but my post was in response to outlandish nonsense claiming complications due to COVID vaccines have been "disproven" when there is ample proof that there ARE complications. Rare cases is quite different from no cases, would you not agree?

Let's use the CDC's page titled "Myocarditis and Pericarditis After mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination": https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/myocarditis.html

Seems like the factual claim that complications from COVID vaccines have been "disproven" is quite easily disproven. Rare does not mean disproven.

[Stevejm]

1 hour ago, ThaiFoodGuy said:

but you soar past @Stevejm's claim that complications have been disproven (a factual claim),

I said complications are rare not disproven as  stated on the cdc site

[Faz]

Your post was held for approval and although off-topic I'll reply.

Let's indeed use the CDC's page quoted and what it states:
Myocarditis and pericarditis have rarely been reported. When reported, the cases have especially been in adolescents and young adult males within several days after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna).

• More often after the second dose
• Usually within a week of vaccination
• Most patients with myocarditis or pericarditis who received care responded well to medicine and rest and felt better quickly.
• Patients can usually return to their normal daily activities after their symptoms improve.

Let's offset that and compare it with deaths attributed to Covid between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, and there are plenty of sites out there with statistics, not main stream media.

One line in a nutshell; Deaths more than 80% lower in communities with high vaccination coverage
https://www.bmj.com/company/newsroom/new-study-shows-fewer-people-die-from-covid-19-in-better-vaccinated-communities/

Those that died from Covid didn't respond well to treatment and never got the chance to return to their normal daily activities.

Every drug or vaccine carries a risk of side effects, however for the majority, the risk is minimal.
The question you need to answer for yourself is based on the balance of probabilities and risk, are you in a group that is more liable to suffer side effects from a vaccination, or to die, or perhaps suffer long Covid from not being vaccinated.

If you're content with your decision, leave it at that.

Now back to the topic, ''Thailand no longer considers Covid a dangerous infectious disease''.

[ThaiFoodGuy]

29 minutes ago, Stevejm said:

I said complications are rare not disproven as  stated on the cdc site

Sorry @Stevejmyou're right, I was quoting @Vigo not you. My bad.

Thanks again @Fazand I completely agree with you and never disputed that complications from vaccines are rare. I was responding specifically to @Vigoclaiming that complications from COVID vaccines have been "disproven".

[longwood50]

6 hours ago, Stevejm said:

cases found in foreign arrivals was significant compared to the local cases

I think you need some Prevagen.  The cases were rising despite almost zero tourists.  The foreigners got blamed but the transmission was local. 

[Marc26]

25 minutes ago, longwood50 said:

I think you need some Prevagen.  The cases were rising despite almost zero tourists.  The foreigners got blamed but the transmission was local. 

I give you enough gruff but I will back you on that...........cases on foreign arrivals were miniscule, in the grand scheme of things

[Stevejm]

7 hours ago, longwood50 said:

I think you need some Prevagen.  The cases were rising despite almost zero tourists.  The foreigners got blamed but the transmission was local. 

Really? Take a look at this. It wasn’t just foreigners also Thais returning from overseas.

https://reliefweb.int/report/thailand/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-who-thailand-situation-report-22-may-2020-enth

[Stevejm]

7 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I give you enough gruff but I will back you on that...........cases on foreign arrivals were miniscule, in the grand scheme of things

Not quite. See my reply to @longwood50