The latest from a 62-year-old ex-American, now in Bangkok:

I flew to Thailand [from Saigon] as planned on 1 December.  Two days before flying, I did a PCR test which was of course negative, and upon arrival I did another PCR test that was also negative.  On my fourth night in my lovely quarantine hotel, however, I developed a fever.  I was at first reluctant to think that I might have COVID because of all the testing I had already done, not to mention the wrench that it would throw into my plans if I did have COVID.  I sweated and froze all that night, but by morning I was feeling a little better.  But then I realized that if I had COVID, it would be better to deal with it as soon as possible, so I took the self-test that I had brought with me from Saigon.  It was VERY positive.  At this point I started my self-treatment protocol with the arsenal of medicines that I had brought with me.  (Ivermectin, fluvoxamine, vitamins D and C, zinc, fenofibrate, colchicine, aspirin, etc.)  Really, the whole kitchen sink.  I notified the hotel and the next day they arranged another PCR test for me and it was also positive.  Within two hours of getting that positive test result, I was out of the hotel and in their associated hospital.  They threw me out, but not without keeping the remaining $300 of my payment for services not rendered.  (No refunds.)  And they even charged me $1.25 for some bread I had eaten beyond my normal allotment - and despite the fact that they kept $300 of my paid-for services.  I thought that was very small minded, but when it comes to money, Thais can be like that.  But if WE do that, then we are Cheap Charlies and we are looked down upon.  

  One very good thing about the quarantine hotel is that the other long-stayers there, like myself, were all anti-vaxxers, by definition.  And I met some very interesting people who are on the same page as we are on all of this, one in particular a lovely, decent and brilliant 72-year old American guy with a 23-year old Filipina girlfriend.  I think I see an interview for you there someday.  Ha.  He had already recovered from COVID and was very supportive of me during my confinement.

  Anyway, I have been in the hospital now for two nights (although it seems much longer) and I am happy to say that I am recovering very well.  Actually there was one very scary moment when my worst fear was realized and the doctor tried very forcefully to convince me to allow myself to be "treated" with Remdesivir!  No effing way, thank you very much.  In fact my desire to avoid Remdesivir was the whole reason why I wanted to avoid being treated in a hospital.  The doctor then had the nurse try to convince me to use Remdesivir, but the nurse's argument had the opposite effect:  She told me, "Many foreigners are treated with Remdesivir."  The implication is that they don't treat Thais with it - because it is expensive and it doesn't work and it kills people.  Duh!  So the next day I showed the doctor an article that said that the WHO recommends NOT using Remdesivir, but she still tried to convince me that it was good.  She said, "It's not because it doesn't work that they don't recommend it.  It's because it doesn't reduce mortality.  It just reduces the time to recovery."  Right, and at $3,000 a course.  What the hell is the point of that?  Not to mention all of the conflicts of interest surrounding it, and the fact that it kills people!

  After refusing to relent, they started injecting me with something else that seems to be reducing the mild pneumonia that I have.  Aside from that, I haven't had hardly any symptoms, presumably due to my very high vitamin D level.  (I had my annual company health check just two days before coming to Thailand and my vitamin D level was 91ng/ml.  They say you need a minimum of 30 to survive COVID, and 60 is ideal.  But mine is over 90, due to having spent my last months under lockdown in Saigon sunning myself at the pool in my condo building.  I'm sure my Vietnamese neighbors thought I was an idiot for browning my white skin like that, but now I am reaping the benefits by surviving COVID almost without symptoms.  Aside from that initial fever, I never had a cough or difficulty breathing.  I just had a headache.  So it has been far from the worst flu I've ever had in my life.  (My previous flus would have also been milder had I known about vitamin D back then!)  It's looking extremely likely that I'm going to beat this thing without any negative effects, and I will have avoided those killer "vaccines".  By the way, I have heard that most of my double-vaccinated colleagues in Saigon now have COVID.  I wonder how they feel about having destroyed their immune systems?  Anyway, I tried to warn them, but there was no reasoning with them.  I'm just an idiot conspiracy theorist.