2 jabs, 1 booster offer proper immunity, says top virologist
A top virologist has called on the authorities to change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to cover three doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan said the rule of a successful vaccination system is to provide basic doses followed by a booster to raise immunity.
“For instance, for Hepatitis B, patients must receive two basic jabs one month apart and then a booster five months later. Only then is the patient considered ‘fully vaccinated’,” Yong explained.
He said this principle should also apply to Covid-19, in which the patients are given the first two jabs and then a booster four to six months later to keep their immunity high.
“There is a misunderstanding around Thailand’s vaccination tally, which says that nearly 80 per cent of the population has received second doses. This info cannot be used to conclude that the majority of Thais are fully vaccinated, as the actual number of people who got booster shots is only about 40 per cent,” he said.
“The government and responsible agencies need to change the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ to cover three doses of the vaccine instead of two, as our vaccination rate at three doses is still low and needs to go up as fast as possible. Ideally, the vaccination rate of three doses should be at 90 per cent,” he added.
As of July 21, more than 140 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Thailand. Of them, 57 million are first jabs covering 82.1per cent of the population, 53.3 million second jabs (76.7 per cent), and 30.4 million doses third jabs and over (43.8 per cent).
