The COVID-2019 Thread

[Fondles]

And that's precisely why countries are trying a third, different shot.

Does the 3rd different shot stop someone from catching the wuflu ?

[harrybarracuda]

Does the 3rd different shot stop someone from catching the wuflu ?

Not necessarily but it may stop you getting hospitalised or killed by the Kung Flu.

[Fondles]

Not necessarily but it may stop you getting hospitalised or killed by the Kung Flu.

So, thats a no then.

thanks.

[thailazer]

Delta variant is taking hold in republican states in the USA where vaccination rates are very low, with infections doubling daily.

[PAG]

Not getting any better. Today's figures include a new record high of 530 in Chonburi, of which 171 were in Pattaya.

[cyrille]

Not getting any better. Today's figures include a new record high of 530 in Chonburi, of which 171 were in Pattaya.

Arrived here two days ago.

It's not me, honest.

[S Landreth]

BioNTech produces 10 times more antibodies than Sinovac: Hong Kong study

Hong Kong, China (AFP) – People who received BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine had ten times the amount of antibodies than those given China’s Sinovac, a Hong Kong study has shown, adding to growing data on different jabs’ effectiveness.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) research, based on a study of 1,442 healthcare workers, was published in Lancet Microbe on Thursday.

Researchers said antibodies are not the only measure of a vaccine’s success at fighting a particular disease.

But they warned that “the difference in concentrations of neutralising antibodies identified in our study could translate into substantial differences in vaccine effectiveness”.

Those who received Sinovac had “similar or lower” levels of antibodies to those seen in patients who caught and successfully fought off the disease.

The study adds to the growing body of evidence that vaccines using pioneering mRNA technology — such as BioNTech and Moderna — offer better protection against the coronavirus and its variants that those developed by more traditional methods such as using inactivated virus parts.

Traditional vaccines are cheaper to produce and less complicated to transport and store, making them a vital tool for fighting the pandemic in less wealthy countries.

– ‘Many lives still saved’ –

Epidemiologist Ben Cowling, one of the report’s authors, said people should still get vaccinated with Sinovac if there was no other option because some protection was always better than none.

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he told AFP.

“It is clearly better to go and get vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine than to wait and not get vaccinated,” he added.

“Many, many lives have been saved by the inactivated vaccine.”

The researchers said their data suggested “alternative strategies” such as earlier booster shots might be needed to increase protection for those who have received Sinovac.

Cowling said when to give booster shots would be the next phase of their ongoing studies.

“The priority would be boosters for people who received Sinovac while boosters for people who initially received BioNTech might not be so urgent,” he said.

– Politics –

Hong Kong has been a world leader in studying coronaviruses ever since a SARS outbreak which began in southern China swept through the city in 2003.

The city currently offers both German-made BioNTech shots and Sinovac.

Despite ample supplies, take-up has been slow, with only 28 percent of the city’s 7.5 million residents fully vaccinated with two shots.

So far some 2.6 million BioNTech doses have been administered compared to 1.8 million Sinovac shots.

The rollout has been caught up in Hong Kong’s febrile politics, as China cracks down on dissent in the city in response to huge and often violent democracy protests two years ago.

At the start of the vaccination campaign Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leaders very visibly and near unanimously opted for Sinovac.

One doctor’s clinic that recommended BioNTech over Sinovac was kicked out of the city’s vaccination programme.

Many of the city’s leading epidemiologists have gone with BioNTech, and said publicly that it is their preferred shot.: BioNTech produces 10 times more antibodies than Sinovac: Hong Kong study | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

• In Other news (Thailand).........

Syn Mun Kong cancels Covid insurance

Syn Mun Kong Insurance Plc (SMK) on Friday announced it was cancelling its previously sold “Covid 2 in 1” insurance policies, with coverage ending in 30 days.

The “Covid 2 in 1” programme is also known as “Jer Jai Job” insurance, which means it pays out immediately if the policyholder tests positive.

The company explained that the rapidly escalating Covid-19 situation in Thailand meant it was no longer able to manage the risk. Thailand logged 9,692 new infections and 67 fatalities on Friday.

Syn Mun Kong said the premium for the coverage remaining on the policy would be returned to customers within 15 days of the cancellation.

The announcement drew thousands of complaints from netizens, who accused the company of abandoning its customers in time of crisis.

The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) said it would meet with the company to discuss the policy cancellation.

“The office does not agree with the company’s decision as we have been instructing insurers to evaluate the outbreak situation thoroughly before accepting new customers,” said OIC secretary-general Suthipol Taweechaikarn.

“Initially, we will try to persuade the company to reverse its decision. If that fails we will consider using more intensive measures, such as ordering a change of policy conditions.”

He added that people affected by the cancellation of their insurance can file a complaint at the OIC website, Home, or call the 1186 hotline.

Syn Mun Kong cancels Covid insurance

[harrybarracuda]

As you constantly inform us.

More accurate opinions I suggest are available for those not of your persuasion:

The New England Journal of Medicine

Originally Posted by Shutree (The bat shit crazy coronavirus thread, foil hats required)
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing results from Chile, Sinovac has an efficacy rate of 65.9% against Covid-19, is 87.5% effective at preventing hospitalisation and 86.3% effective at preventing death

Some new Chile data for you to quote hoohoo

SANTIAGO, July 15 (Reuters) - The leaders of a Chilean late-stage human trial of the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac (SVA.O) on Thursday recommended a third dose of the jab to protect against the more contagious Delta variant.

Chilean Sinovac trial leaders recommend third dose of COVID-19 vaccine | Reuters

[harrybarracuda]

The whackjob's favourite drug is in the news again. It seems one patient who was cured left hospital on the 31st June...

The efficacy of a drug being promoted by rightwing figures worldwide for treating Covid-19 is in serious doubt after a major study suggesting the treatment is effective against the virus was withdrawn due to “ethical concerns”.

The preprint study on the efficacy and safety of ivermectin – a drug used against parasites such as worms and headlice – in treating Covid-19, led by Dr Ahmed Elgazzar from Benha University in Egypt, was published on the Research Square website in November.

It claimed to be a randomised control trial, a type of study crucial in medicine because it is considered to provide the most reliable evidence on the effectiveness of interventions due to the minimal risk of confounding factors influencing the results. Elgazzar is listed as chief editor of the Benha Medical Journal, and is an editorial board member.

The study found that patients with Covid-19 treated in hospital who “received ivermectin early reported substantial recovery” and that there was “a substantial improvement and reduction in mortality rate in ivermectin treated groups” by 90%.

But the drug’s promise as a treatment for the virus is in serious doubt after the Elgazzar study was pulled from the Research Square website on Thursday “due to ethical concerns”. Research Square did not outline what those concerns were.

A medical student in London, Jack Lawrence, was among the first to identify serious concerns about the paper, leading to the retraction. He first became aware of the Elgazzar preprint when it was assigned to him by one of his lecturers for an assignment that formed part of his master’s degree. He found the introduction section of the paper appeared to have been almost entirely plagiarised.

It appeared that the authors had run entire paragraphs from press releases and websites about ivermectin and Covid-19 through a thesaurus to change key words. “Humorously, this led to them changing ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome’ to ‘extreme intense respiratory syndrome’ on one occasion,” Lawrence said.

The data also looked suspicious to Lawrence, with the raw data apparently contradicting the study protocol on several occasions.

“The authors claimed to have done the study only on 18-80 year olds, but at least three patients in the dataset were under 18,” Lawrence said.

“The authors claimed they conducted the study between the 8th of June and 20th of September 2020, however most of the patients who died were admitted into hospital and died before the 8th of June according to the raw data. The data was also terribly formatted, and includes one patient who left hospital on the non-existent date of 31/06/2020.”

There were other concerns.

“In their paper, the authors claim that four out of 100 patients died in their standard treatment group for mild and moderate Covid-19,” Lawrence said. “According to the original data, the number was 0, the same as the ivermectin treatment group. In their ivermectin treatment group for severe Covid-19, the authors claim two patients died, but the number in their raw data is four.”

Lawrence and the Guardian sent Elgazzar a comprehensive list of questions about the data, but did not receive a reply. The university’s press office also did not respond.

Lawrence contacted an Australian chronic disease epidemiologist from the University of Wollongong, Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, and a data analyst affiliated with Linnaeus University in Sweden who reviews scientific papers for errors, Nick Brown, for help analysing the data and study results more thoroughly.

Brown created a comprehensive document uncovering numerous data errors, discrepancies and concerns, which he provided to the Guardian. According to his findings the authors had clearly repeated data between patients.

“The main error is that at least 79 of the patient records are obvious clones of other records,” Brown told the Guardian. “It’s certainly the hardest to explain away as innocent error, especially since the clones aren’t even pure copies. There are signs that they have tried to change one or two fields to make them look more natural.”

Other studies on ivermectin are still under way. In the UK, the University of Oxford is testing whether giving people with Covid-19 ivermectin prevents them ending up in hospital.

The Elgazzar study was one of the the largest and most promising showing the drug may help Covid patients, and has often been cited by proponents of the drug as evidence of its effectiveness. This is despite a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases in June finding ivermectin is “not a viable option to treat COVID-19 patients”.

Meyerowitz-Katz told the Guardian that “this is one of the biggest ivermectin studies out there”, and it appeared to him the data was “just totally faked”. This was concerning because two meta-analyses of ivermectin for treating Covid-19 had included the Elgazzar study in the results. A meta-analysis is a statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies to determine what the overall scientific literature has found about a treatment or intervention.

“Because the Elgazzar study is so large, and so massively positive – showing a 90% reduction in mortality – it hugely skews the evidence in favour of ivermectin,” Meyerowitz-Katz said.

“If you remove this one study from the scientific literature, suddenly there are very few positive randomised control trials of ivermectin for Covid-19. Indeed, if you get rid of just this research, most meta-analyses that have found positive results would have their conclusions entirely reversed.”

Kyle Sheldrick, a Sydney doctor and researcher, also independently raised concerns about the paper. He found numbers the authors provided for several standard deviations – a measure of variation in a group of data points – mentioned in tables in the paper were “mathematically impossible” given the range of numbers provided in the same table.

Sheldrick said the completeness of data was further evidence suggesting possible fabrication, noting that in real-world conditions, this was almost impossible. He also identified the duplication of patient deaths and data.

Ivermectin has gained momentum throughout Latin America and India, largely based on evidence from preprint studies. In March, the World Health Organization warned against the use of ivermectin outside well designed clinical trials.

The conservative Australian MP Craig Kelly, who has also promoted the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 – despite there being no evidence that it works – has been among those promoting ivermectin. Several Indian media outlets ran stories on Kelly in the past week after he asked Uttar Pradesh to loan the state’s chief minister, Adityanath, to Australia to release ivermectin. After this story was initially published, Kelly contacted the Guardian to say he disagreed with the statement that there was no evidence that hydroxychloroquine worked, and that he stood by his views.

Lawrence said what started out as a simple university assignment had led to a comprehensive investigation into an apparent scientific fraud at a time when “there is a whole ivermectin hype … dominated by a mix of right-wing figures, anti-vaxxers and outright conspiracists”.

“Although science trends towards self-correction, something is clearly broken in a system that can allow a study as full of problems as the Elgazzar paper to run unchallenged for seven months,” he said.

“Thousands of highly educated scientists, doctors, pharmacists, and at least four major medicines regulators missed a fraud so apparent that it might as well have come with a flashing neon sign. That this all happened amid an ongoing global health crisis of epic proportions is all the more terrifying.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/...hical-concerns

[misskit]

WHO presses China for more transparency on outbreak origins


The World Health Organization’s chief urged China to be more transparent over its data on the origins of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, while admitting that ruling out the possibility of a laboratory leak in Wuhan had been premature.


“We ask China to be transparent and open and to cooperate,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general said at a news conference on Thursday.


“We owe it to the millions who suffered and the millions who died to know what happened,” he said, adding that investigations into the source of the outbreak have been hindered by a lack of raw data from the first days of the pandemic as provided by the Chinese government.


In March, the WHO, in a joint report with Chinese researchers, concluded that the virus probably originated in bats and was passed to humans, after the organization sent a team of researchers to investigate around the city of Wuhan for four weeks.


The director-general further acknowledged that there had been a “premature push” into ruling out the theory that the virus may have escaped from a Chinese government lab in Wuhan.


“I was a lab technician myself, I’m an immunologist, and I have worked in a lab, and lab accidents happen,” Tedros said. “It’s common.”


“Checking what happened, especially in our labs, is important and we need direct information on what the situation of this lab was before and at the start of the pandemic, then, if we get full information, we can exclude that.”


In May, US President Joe Biden ordered the country’s intelligence teams to carry out extra investigations into the origins of the pandemic, including “any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese laboratory.”


China responded by calling the theory “absurd”, adding that “politicizing” the matter will further hamper investigations.


Following the announcement, Tedros will be briefing WHO’s 194 member states on Friday regarding a proposed second phase of the study, said WHO’s top emergency expert Mike Ryan.


“We look forward to working with our Chinese counterparts on that process and the director-general will outline measures to member states at a meeting tomorrow, on Friday,” Mike said.


The ongoing global pandemic of the Covid-19 disease, which was first identified in Wuhan, China in December 2019, has caused more than 189 million infections and a further 4.83 million deaths worldwide.

WHO presses China for more transparency on outbreak origins - Thai Enquirer

[Slick]

So after much drama and multiple trips to Phuket Town immigration I have learned that to get vaccinated through Phuket.win you have to be IN PHUKET for more than 90 days before your 'application' will go through. They flat refused to update my phuket.win application until ive been here more than 90 days. They are basing this 'in phuket' standard by my Thailand entry stamp. Their reason was that there was alot of "vaccine tourism".... Rather infuriating.

So, that makes it impossible for me to get vaccinated here unless I try and walk in to one of the vaccination centers and the only ones I know of are in patong and they are not everyday.

And now phuket seems to have a new rule that anyone trying to enter from a red zone needs to have a vaccination. Its not been entirely clear what exactly that means. Does that mean if you transit through BKK you dont need one? Does it mean that if you enter BKK and have your 3 brain swabs at an ASQ then you get a pass and can enter?

So now my employer, in their desperation to get people, are offering Pfizer shots through an agent in Dubai, but the issue is that I need to take one dose, go offshore, then return for the second, then fly back to thailand. Yet thailand requires the last vaccination used for the sandbox scheme to be taken at least 14 days prior (if memory serves).

Ill be so glad when this stupid shit is over with.

[harrybarracuda]

So after much drama and multiple trips to Phuket Town immigration I have learned that to get vaccinated through Phuket.win you have to be IN PHUKET for more than 90 days before your 'application' will go through. They flat refused to update my phuket.win application until ive been here more than 90 days. They are basing this 'in phuket' standard by my Thailand entry stamp. Their reason was that there was alot of "vaccine tourism".... Rather infuriating.

So, that makes it impossible for me to get vaccinated here unless I try and walk in to one of the vaccination centers and the only ones I know of are in patong and they are not everyday.

And now phuket seems to have a new rule that anyone trying to enter from a red zone needs to have a vaccination. Its not been entirely clear what exactly that means. Does that mean if you transit through BKK you dont need one? Does it mean that if you enter BKK and have your 3 brain swabs at an ASQ then you get a pass and can enter?

So now my employer, in their desperation to get people, are offering Pfizer shots through an agent in Dubai, but the issue is that I need to take one dose, go offshore, then return for the second, then fly back to thailand. Yet thailand requires the last vaccination used for the sandbox scheme to be taken at least 14 days prior (if memory serves).

Ill be so glad when this stupid shit is over with.

Most people would have got vaccinated before going there....

[Slick]

Most people would have got vaccinated before going there....

I haven't had an opportunity to get any legit vaccination until my employer offered the Pfizer one just now.

There was an offer of the chink vaccine way back in the early days but nobody wanted it and everyone globally slighted it (you too, harry, so dont play the cnut) and my employer was only offering a single dose. This single dose you had to take and then stay under supervision for 14 days. Why stay away from home and under supervision for so long for a questionable shot when you can just go home and quarantine in a hotel then be with your family. 28 days of bullshit vs 14 days of bullshit.

I work out of Dubai and for the longest time you had to have a resident card to get vaccinated. Only now are there 'agents' to play the game for you.

[PAG]

Could be another record day for Thailand, Chonburi just reported a new high of 659 (beating the 530 of yesterday), with 156 new cases in Pattaya.

[PAG]

Thought so.

[tomcat]

***this just in from the US Embassy***

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Event: COVID-19 Vaccine Opportunity for U.S. Citizens - July 17, 2021

The Thai Government has informed the U.S. Embassy that it is offering U.S. citizens in Thailand the opportunity to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine at 4 p.m. this Sunday July 18, 2021 at SCG Headquarters in Bang Sue area of Bangkok. (See location map here: https://goo.gl/maps/dFRM8oycooZTtQJW8).

IMPORTANT: Doses are limited. Those who are successful obtaining an appointment will be contacted. If you do not receive a return email verifying your appointment, assume all appointments have been filled.

*****OOPS*****

COVID-19 Vaccine Opportunity for Americans - July 18, 2021
Thank you for your interest. The numbers of available COVID-19 doses has been exceeded. If additional spots open, this page will reopen.



...I received this bulletin from the Embassy at 8:27am. I submitted my completed request form at 8:35am. I received this rejection notice at 9:01am...

[Slick]

The Thai Government has informed the U.S. Embassy that it is offering U.S. citizens in Thailand the opportunity to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine

The numbers of available COVID-19 doses has been exceeded.

Nothing but a show. They had zero intention to provide enough vaccinations for us citizens, they just put on a little show because the us donated a few million doses.

[tomcat]

Nothing but a show. They had zero intention to provide enough vaccinations for us citizens, they just put on a little show because the us donated a few million doses.

...that's what it feels like, yes...

[cyrille]

They had zero intention to provide enough vaccinations for us citizens

Clearly they are unable to provide enough doses for all US citizens that want one. The rest is just speculation.

[Slick]

Clearly they are unable to provide enough doses for all US citizens that want one. The rest is just speculation.

Change “unable” to “unwilling” and you’re closer to the mark. The us taxpayer fooking GAVE them millions of doses.

And how many Americans are in Thailand? A few thousand?

The us government should have given Thailand nothing and spread those millions of doses around to all the embassies to pass around to its citizens living abroad.

[tomcat]

The us government should have given Thailand nothing and spread those millions of doses around to all the embassies to pass around to its citizens living abroad.

...that suggestion entails a huge loss of face for the Thai government as it would start an avalanche of vaccine demands from other foreigners residing in the swamp...

[Slick]

...that suggestion entails a huge loss of face for the Thai government as it would start an avalanche of vaccine demands from other foreigners residing in the swamp...

Quite a few countries are vaccinating their citizens in Thailand through their embassies, so I think people’s health should supersede politics, but in America’s case that’s never the situation.

[tomcat]

***now this***

Your registration for the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine has been confirmed. Your appointment is at 4:00 p.m. this Sunday July 18, 2021 at SCG Headquarters in Bang Sue area of Bangkok. See location map here: Google Maps). Additional maps are attached to this email.

Please bring your U.S. passport to verify your identity. You will need to make your own travel arrangements to the vaccination site.

This is a limited opportunity offered by the Thai Government. Only the recipient of this email who registered through the form will be included on the appointment list.

[tomcat]

...and this: 2 more confirmations received...

[Slick]

Goodluck