Covid vaccine

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Gaybutton
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by Gaybutton »

I have not been vaccinated yet. Nothing is available in Pattaya and I am trying to wait for Pfizer or Moderna.

I have a couple questions for those of you who have been vaccinated with at least one dose - and please specify which vaccine you received:

Do you now feel safe and that you are immune to Covid?
Do you feel that you are partially immune, meaning immune to some of the strains, but not all?
If you have not yet received your second dose, do you feel that you are immune or still fully susceptible until getting the second dose?
Do you feel that even though you have been vaccinated with 2 doses, you are probably still as susceptible as you were before getting vaccinated?

Do you feel that once you have received both doses, you would be safe to dispense with the precautions, including dispensing with the face mask?

If there are any questions I didn't think to ask - feel free.

I would also like to know if any of you experienced any side effects.
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richsilver
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by richsilver »

I have received one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Now that more than two weeks have passed since the shot, the vaccine is said to be rather effective, but there is no such thing as being immune to Covid. Many people still get Covid after the vaccine, but it is much milder, you are far less likely to be hospitalized and there is virtually no chance of dying.
The data suggest that the vaccine is not as effective with the new delta variant, but there is still quite a bit of protection.
The second dose certainly increases the protection, but there is substantial protection from the first.
Even after the second dose, I feel it is best to still take precautions, including a mask.
There were no side effects at all.

I recommend getting whatever vaccine you can (except for the Chinese ones) as soon as you can. Virtually all hospitalizations and deaths now are from unvaccinated people.
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Undaunted
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by Undaunted »

I too had the first dose of AstraZeneca and I felt a bit of a headache for a day and a sore arm. I feel safer than those not vaccinated but I don’t feel entirely safe and won’t even after my second dose however, I feel I have much less chance of being hospitalized if I get infected. I have registered at 2 hospitals for Moderna but I am not holding my breath but if it is available after my second dose of Astra I will take it as well. People in high risk groups because of age or underlying health conditions should not wait but I agree that I wouldn’t take any Chinese vaccine. Had there been a vaccine early on my older brother would most likely still be alive.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
@DM
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by @DM »

There's a recent study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that looks into the effectiveness of one dose vs two of AZ and Pfizer against the delta variant. The quick-and-dirty summary would be-- one dose of either provides some protection but not a whole lot. Two doses gets you to the "whole lot" of protection level.

This is a little different from the "alpha" variant, where a single dose provide a "whole lot" of protection.

I think the take-away is pretty simple: With the delta variant being dominant now, a single dose is probably not sufficient to let your guard down.

For any who might prefer to dig into the details and desire more specificity than the un-scientific "whole lot", the study can be found here. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2108891
Up2u

Re: Covid vaccine

Post by Up2u »

If you are a patient with BHP contact your doctor(s). I had one doctor call me two weeks ago to "sponsor" me for the Moderna vaccine. Yesterday, my primary care doctor called to sponsor me for the AZ vaccine. She said the hospital will have a supply shortly for high priority patients. The doctors themselves will be getting an AZ booster jab this week.
Daleinpattaya
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by Daleinpattaya »

Monday (yesterday) afternoon I got a surprise call from a clerk-type at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (BHP) … simply asking me if I was interested in receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine … that was it, no further information … told me that I would receive a subsequent call from someone else, no telling when. Surprisingly, this morning I got the second call … at 9:00am … I confirmed that I was interested and was asked if I could be at the hospital by 10:00am … in one hour!! Needless to say, I got my runnin' shoes on, called old faithful Bolt car service and hightailed it to BHP. After standing in several queues with a couple of hundred equally elderly (predominantly) male expats, I left the hospital at 11:30 successfully vaccinated with an appointment in 3 months for dose #2. I have to admit that I made every effort to be as close as possible to the front of the several queues … thus the process would have taken longer for those not as upfront as I … After all of my bitchin' and moanin' for the last year, in the end, it was so freaking easy.

NOTE: once at the hospital, I don’t think I was checked against a list … manually or digitally … nor checked against my hospital registration number … thus I suspect that were one to show up about 9:30am on an upcoming morning (not tomorrow — King’s birth holiday) … one could be successfully jabbed … if you are able to talk past a hurdle or two … I asked and was told by 2-3 staff that this was an ongoing, multi-day exercise … no guarantees, just a surmise.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by Gaybutton »

You did not say whether there was a fee for this.

I have not received a call from the hospital, so I called to see what the story is. I was told that if you have a hospital number with them, then at some point they will make contact.

Based on your note, it sounds like you can just go whether they've called or not, but that would be jumping the queue. I don't do things like that, so I will just wait my turn. And when I called, I called their 1719 number, but the operator knew who I am and when my next doctor appointment is - and I never gave any information. So, trying to cheat just may backfire. If anyone tries to do that, be careful.

While I really would rather wait for Pfizer or Moderna, everybody is pushing to get AstraZeneca if it is offered first, so if the hospital does contact me, I probably will go ahead and get it since it's starting to seem like humans will be an extinct species anyway before Pfizer and Moderna ever becomes available in Thailand.
puan
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by puan »

Daleinpattaya wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:43 pm ...After all of my bitchin' and moanin' for the last year, in the end, it was so freaking easy.
Well, the bitchin' and moanin' was and still is appropriate!! Congratulations
Jun

Re: Covid vaccine

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 4:55 pm While I really would rather wait for Pfizer or Moderna, everybody is pushing to get AstraZeneca if it is offered first, so if the hospital does contact me, I probably will go ahead and get it since it's starting to seem like humans will be an extinct species anyway before Pfizer and Moderna ever becomes available in Thailand.
To take the Astra Zeneca is probably the right call, unless you have an imminent date for an mRNA vaccine.
I think Astra Zeneca has a 92% reduction in hospitalizations, compared with 96% for Pfizer.
In the UK, I took the Astra Zeneca as soon as offered. With a high number of cases, a 92% reduction now seems better than a 96% reduction in 6 months time.
I don't see anything stopping people getting a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine in 2022, or whenever availability is good.
catawampuscat
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Re: Covid vaccine

Post by catawampuscat »

Bangkok-Pattaya hospital has started gIving AstroZenica shots. One friend went today. He said he was contacted by B-P and
another friend got an appointment soon. They said you needed to have a history with the hospital and it seemed random whom
they contacted. It might be worth stopping in or calling your doctors at BH and maybe not.
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