More Covid news from Jim, a 62-year-old ex-American in Saigon:

There are rumors in Saigon of another lockdown on the way. Just rumors so far, but when I went to the supermarket yesterday, people were stocking up on food. That's not normally something I would see on a Tuesday morning.

Yesterday I had a long chat with one of my best friends in Malta. He's been vaccinated twice without any side effects and he declared his intention to get his "boosters". He justifies this based on the fact that he doesn't know anybody who has died from the vaccine. His reasoning is flawed on so many levels that I just changed the subject. Once people are vaccinated, they have no choice but to believe. It's not like they can unvaccinate themselves (although I do think there are things they can do to mitigate the damage of the vaccines). People are such short-term thinkers, though. If it doesn't kill THEM - TODAY - then they think it's OK. One of my Vietnamese colleagues even told me that she'll deal with the future when it comes, but the vaccines will help her get through the short term. But she's young and healthy, so she would have made it through the short term without the vaccines. But now, she's not going to have a long term. I don't totally blame these people because the fact is that the Jewish propaganda has been so overwhelming that one really has to look hard to find the truth. And most people are too busy just trying to put food on the table and make it through today to worry about tomorrow. But one thing I have learned in my life is that, as sure as night follows day, tomorrow is going to come--and sooner than you think. And taking these vaccines is pretty much guaranteeing that tomorrow is going to be bad.

This afternoon I will take my COVID quick test that is required for my Thai visa application, and tomorrow I will submit the application. I need to get out of here before that rumored next lockdown comes. That being said, the Thais appear to be moving in the direction of requiring vaccinations, although they're not there yet. Still, I have more confidence in my ability to avoid the vaccine by paying someone off in Thailand than in Vietnam. So as soon as I arrive there, I'm going to start looking for someone who can enter me into the vaccine database without actually having to get vaccinated. Corruption has its advantages sometimes.


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